It Started With A Kiss (Kisame Story)
by goddamndamndamn
Summary: Umi's always been different and isolated-being a mermaid will do that. But all she's ever dreamed of is living with everyone else. She changes for one day a year, and the only clue as to what might make her stay that way is the person she's seen in her dreams for as long as she can remember: Kisame. So what will happen when they finally meet?
1. Chapter 1

She was having the dream again.

She'd had it so many times now, she could recite it off by heart, even if a few details changed each time. But it was one Umi had had for as long as she could remember. There were always images of her changing; of her staying that way, with a presence being by her side that entire time—but the moment that presence disappeared, she returned to her usual form and was left alone. A feeling of sadness and despair always overcame her in the dream when she was on her own in the darkness, and it was only when the images returned that she felt better. Some things she didn't understand; several clouds always appeared and drifted her around her; but not the usual kind. These were black and red, and hand drawn, not natural. They were from somewhere, clearly; a symbol for some sort of place or group—but how would Umi know? She knew nothing of the larger world out there. But then they would disappear, and finally someone would reveal themselves from the darkness. He didn't look like most people she'd seen, and at first he had almost scared her. But the more she saw him, the more she saw the genuine emotion on his face and the smile that appeared; he was strangely handsome, and she felt a connection, even _if_ she didn't truly know who he was. When his image appeared in the dream things always felt better, and when he disappeared, everything changed to darkness. But so much of her life was connected to him, she understood that; and then just like always, the dream ended with it all blending into one, as one word came from the silence:

Kisame.

Waking up, Umi took a deep breath and slowly began to open her eyes, staring up at the dappled sunshine flickering through the canopy of leaves above her for a moment. It was going to be a beautiful day, a slight breeze whispering through the trees but blue, clear skies and a temperature that was just right. To begin with, however, Umi didn't feel like moving from her spot. Whenever she had that dream—that vision, whatever you wanted to call it—it always brought up thoughts about her life; about the direction it was going in. So much of it was uncertain, and so much of it she was unsatisfied with. She could make up stories and lie about her identity and true personality, but it wasn't exactly enough; the idea that she had a life, in the end, was a lie in itself. With the way she was living now, it wasn't quite the way everyone else's was. Umi had accepted she was different a long time ago, but even those who were different had a chance. And yet Umi was 24 now, and things didn't seem to be wanting to change any time soon. Maybe 'Kisame' could help; but when was he going to turn up? She couldn't wait for him forever—especially when she didn't even know how he was supposed to fit in with her life. And how was she supposed to do a thing, anyway, if she couldn't even go on land for more than one day a year?

Sighing in irritation, Umi finally decided to get up, and glancing onto the shore for one last time, she dived under the water, flicking her tail to head round to the other side of the lake—at least there she could get some breakfast. Because that's what was different about Umi. She was human—but not like most; and not always. For the majority of the time...she lived as a mermaid. A half life that was never really completed; an emptiness that meant that although she was human; although she understood everything on shore with what she had read and she _knew_ she belonged up there...she could never truly be one with it. There was only one day—her birthday—that allowed her to return to her birthplace. She'd get this feeling in her tail, and when she swam up to the surface, her legs would come back, and she'd be able to walk again. It always took a while to get used to, considering she was used to swimming most of the time...but it was the day she lived for. Though she could communicate with the sea creatures in the lake, it wasn't enough. They fit in with their environment; they looked like they were supposed to for the lake. But she didn't. If she went up as she was now, she was weird and different—but it remained that way when she swam to the bottom.

Finally spotting the place she'd been looking for, Umi resurfaced, resting her arms on the rocks and leaning her head on top of that, calling out gently to the animals who were in the trees nearby. Her abilities included talking with animals, as she had lived with them for most of her life, and as such they could understand her, bringing her over the fruit that grew in the trees when she asked. Though she could eat what she found in the lake; the usual sea food and stuff, once she had tried some fruit when she came up on land once, she couldn't dismiss it from her diet afterwards. There was so much more variety up there, and ultimately it meant she did what she could to change things around. Thanking them, she began to eat, chatting casually as those from the lake joined her too, pondering what she was planning on doing today. There was only so much space she had, after all, considering she lived in a lake and sometimes that area was made even smaller when groups of humans began to arrive.

People in the village knew of her existence; she was sort of a legend in the area. But she was more solid and real than most spirits or ethereal creatures in the world, and as such a lot of the villagers were wary of her, and tried to keep their distance. A lot of the time it was the children she spoke to, having been dared by their friends to go and find her, and curious about her when she surfaced and began to talk to them. Sometimes when travellers passed through she got a chance to talk to them if she felt it was okay, but overall she had been told to avoid humans as much as possible. Her power was covetable, and therefore people might try to take it. Lots of people knew about the rumours about her, and she'd never know who might turn around and try to take it from her; who might try and use it for purposes she was against.

Not that Umi agreed.

"Did you hear? There might be a group of villagers coming down here for the day; fishing, swimming...all kinds. I might go visit," she suggested to the fish who had swam up next to her, one of whom she was very familiar with; but he quickly shook his head, responding firmly,

"You can't, Umi! You know you can't trust the humans; especially the villagers. Just stay away from them."

"Come on, Sakana. There are thousands of people in the world; and not _all_ of them can be out to get me; not everyone's goal could be to steal my power and use for their own needs. And even if there _was_ somebody who was trying to get my power, it would be a little more complicated than just turning up and dragging me out of the water. If you remember, I can't use my abilities to their full extent unless I'm in human form; and if you haven't noticed—that's a very rare thing. They have to get the key first if they're going to _get_ anywhere. You just worry too much," Umi replied dismissively, rolling her eyes as he looked at her sternly, before sighing. Regardless of whether she listened to Sakana or not, getting up and joining the humans on shore was still an impossible task; and therefore she brushed it off for the moment, suggesting sweetly,

"Alright then. How about we both go for a swim instead? To take our minds off of it?"

Now at that, Sakana perked up completely, nodding and darting off through the water. Umi giggled, but followed on swiftly—at least this way she might be able to forget about the humans and what they could offer her.

But what Umi didn't know was that the situation concerning her abilities wasn't about to be so complicated anymore. She tried to find out as much as she could about what was going on in the world, having done pretty well so far—but there was only so much she could know. Especially when it came down to those who kept to the shadows, hiding from the general population and for most people to not even know who they were. If Umi had known that people were after her—and very close by—that very moment, she might have chosen her words more carefully. If she had known that the key that had been hidden for so long was now in their possession, she might have tried to hide as much as possible. But instead she raced through the water, chasing the waves and thinking about going to visit the humans—even just going to observe for a while. For so long Umi had dreamed of finally being human; and all of the time, not just for one day, and always wondered if it was ever going to happen.

But whether it was going to be such a good thing when they arrived was a much more difficult question to answer...


	2. Chapter 2

He pulled out the gem from his pocket and ran his fingers over it again.

At first he hadn't even realised what it was; he'd taken it because he'd thought he could sell it and get a huge profit, that was all. But when he'd started showing it round the market, someone had gasped, saying that it was a special gem; one that could access tons of power. To begin with he had been uncertain as to what to do with it from there—but as he realised that by getting this power, this would be better for a much longer period of time, he changed his mind quickly. Using the power he could take control of so many things; he could complete loads of missions easily and would earn the same amount of money he'd get from selling the stone every week. From then on, when people offered him huge amounts of money as they discovered what it was, he brushed them off. Instead he researched this gem; a sapphire gem that seemed to glow from the inside—the Henka stone.

Sure, he'd heard of the legends of the mermaid who lived in the Genki Lake; a lot of people had. He'd never concerned himself with it, however—he'd brushed it off as mere myth, and even if it was true, it seemed like _way_ too much effort to go after. But now he'd gotten past the biggest hurdle; he'd managed to find the stone. If he found the mermaid, he could change her back. Once he did that, she'd have her power...and he could use her as his personal assassin. It would be easy to threaten and intimidate her into working for him; she'd been a mermaid all her life—what did she know of the outside world? Not to mention the lake wasn't that far away; it might take a while to search the thing and find her, but it couldn't take _too _long; there's only so much lake to look in. Then it would be plain sailing from there, and that power would be his.

So taking his ninjas with him, he'd quickly set off for the lake, grinning all the while.

This would be a piece of cake.

Which is more than the Akatsuki were thinking.

They wanted this power too, and had been after it a lot longer than the other guy—even though they hadn't a clue he was going for it too. Only _they_ had no idea where the gem was, and although they'd researched it for weeks, gone to every place possible...it was nowhere around. It was like it had disappeared off the face of the earth! So they had returned to the lake. All of them were here; Pein had started to lose his patience with finding this thing, and if there were more people, there were more people to search for it. But so far nothing had turned up, boredom taking over them all—even the most patient of people—and if it wasn't for the fact Pein had been so set on it, they would have suggested giving up a while ago. It just seemed like a lost cause; they hadn't seen any sign of the gem, and it didn't look like it would be turning up any time soon. How were they supposed to find it, when it had disappeared entirely?

Not that they could do anything about it; they merely trudged on, splitting up into two groups as they reached the lake area, with strict instructions to report anything and everything that might lead to them finding the gem. None of them thought there would be anything, of course—but they were considering talking to Umi. She _was_ the one with all the power—if anyone would know where that fucking gem was, she would. So half of them wandered right in the direction of the lake, knowing searching for _her_ would be a lot easier than the stone, while the rest headed into the village, hoping to ask the people there for some directions of some kind. The day was set to be another long one; and already they'd lost the will to live.

Umi, however, was starting to get excited. At first she'd thought she'd heard wrong; that no one was going to be coming to the lake and she wouldn't get a chance to see any humans. She was pretty sure she'd managed to convince everyone she was going to steer clear of the humans, stating she'd head off to her usual place to relax and wile away the hours. Naturally she wasn't about to do anything of the sort in reality, however, and had swum to the edge of the lake, climbing up on a rock to get the best view of every shore. She'd been sitting there for a while, and slowly her hope had faded; maybe Sakana had been right; maybe she was always putting too much hope on the humans and what would happen with them. If she just concentrated on her own life, on the things she was doing, then maybe she'd get somewhere.

But how could she do that when there was nothing for her here?

Then suddenly something had caught her attention; something moving in the trees on the east shore of the lake. At first she had only casually turned to look, thinking it was an animal of some kind; but when it had seemed bigger; and was standing _upright_, that Umi finally concentrated on it. Narrowing her eyes and waiting a little longer as it moved, her heart clenched in excitement and happiness; it was a human—it couldn't be anything else! Shuffling forward, Umi began to get back into the water again, when she noticed the human disappeared. Instantly she froze, frowning, hoping that they hadn't turned away and gone off. The same thing happened another time, however; the silhouette of the human would appear, only for it to disappear into the shadows once more. It was only as Umi noticed it was getting _closer_, not further away, that she dived straight into the water and headed over to the shore. Swimming as fast as she could, she slowed when she was just round the corner from where the human was, coming to the surface and peering out from behind a rock, watching as he knelt by the shore, bringing something out of his pocket and looking it over. She couldn't see what it was, but he seemed completely focused on it, causing her to edge closer to get a better look.

It was how Umi didn't notice someone coming up behind her until it was too late, spinning round to gaze up at three other men all staring down at her menacingly. Freezing, a moment later they had grabbed her, pulling her up and out of the water and pushing her onto the shore. Struggling against their grip, Umi cried out, trying to push herself away from them and into the water, knowing she would hold the advantage over them in there. But they wouldn't give up, dragging her further and further away from the shore until she was almost in the trees, Umi still struggling as much as she could. Then suddenly a shadow fell over her, and looking up, she saw the man who had been kneeling on the shore with the gem—only this time the expression on his face wasn't as innocent as it had been before; and she could finally see what was in his palm, her eyes widening as she realised just what this was all about.

Why hadn't Umi listened to Sakana? All this time they had been trying to warn her; to tell her this for her own good, and instead she had been selfish and ignorant, going after her own stupid dreams of becoming a full-time human—and look at what had happened. Now this guy held the Henka stone in front of her, and though she glared, still fighting, she was held back, and pushing down the edge of her top to reveal the full tattoo on her chest, he placed the stone against it, and immediately Umi felt herself begin to change. Slowly her tail disintegrated, feet forming and the power radiating up her lower body to slowly reveal legs, Umi left sitting there now a full human. In any other situation she would have been happy; what she had wished for all her life and finally come true; she was a human, and it wouldn't be for merely a day. But this was different. These guys had forced her into it, and all they wanted was her power. Suddenly her dream of becoming a human had been turned into a nightmare, and anger rose within Umi. They'd had ruined everything for her, and now she had no idea what to do or where to turn. She couldn't return to the water, and she couldn't remain on land; they were going to try and use her power.

But then she remembered.

She _had_ that power.

So now it was finally time to use it.


	3. Chapter 3

For a moment, Umi relaxed, staring down at her body in shock and prompting them to release their grip slightly on her.

Only to find out that was a big mistake.

Jolting forward, she turned and slammed a foot into the first guy's face, focusing her chakra and causing him to fly back, electricity all around his body. He was dead before he hit the ground, his body still convulsing and twitching every now and again—but Umi wasn't done yet. She reached for her power and focused it on the water, watching as the tide rose abruptly into a huge tidal wave. Picking her up, they tried dragging her back a few feet to avoid the wave; but as it crashed down on the shore, the water reached out for one of the men, attaching to his legs and pulled him kicking and screaming into the depths below. They hit her a couple of times; but her anger and fear were too great for Umi to truly notice the pain. She merely hit out as much as she could, the chakra pooling around her body; and the moment she felt she was free, she stood up and ran.

She used all of the chakra she could to speed up her running; nothing else mattered. The last time she had walked had been months and months ago, and she barely remembered herself doing it; along with the power and the process of changing, she was hesitant on her feet; and stumbling. If she didn't use her chakra to speed things up, she would only trip and fall; she'd allow those guys to catch up with her and take her—and she couldn't do that. Not to mention she was hurt, and she had no idea where she was going. She didn't know who to trust anymore, when it came down to it. She had thought she could try when she approached that guy, and he had forced her to become human and tried to abuse her powers. Who else would attempt to do the same? The village seemed like a bad place to go—they knew the legend surrounding her better than anyone; if they found out she was a human permanently—at least for the moment—they might change and come after her, too. Umi would have to find a place where she could be alone; to hide. She was half naked, anyway, and would need to rest, sooner or later. The power was still swimming around in her head, and she felt dizzy.

How could she have let this happen? She should have been more careful. Her face fell into a glare at the same time they shone with tears. Everything she had hoped for had become reality...and yet it was awful, and already she wanted to be back in the water with a tail and her animal friends—at least there she knew she was safe. If she ever got back to the lake she was never going near a human again—she'd hide in the furthest corner of the water and would only surface when she had to. If that would ever happen, that is. Glancing around, although Umi couldn't sense anyone there, the trees were surrounding her, and everything looked the same. She didn't even know which direction the village was in anymore, and could only force herself to keep running. The branches scratched at her skin, but she didn't care. Umi no longer had any idea of where her place was in the world, and she couldn't stop.

She had thought that when she came on land and would remain human, things would be different. That she would finally feel as if she belonged; that she could be useful and that she would find a place to fit in with the humans—she would be one herself. As she had her power, Umi had thought she could train to be a ninja somehow, and work doing missions; or there had to at least be _something_ she could do. Her life would unravel on the shore, and Umi would have found her place there—only things clearly weren't as simple as they first seemed. Though she hadn't come into contact with any civilisation, and hadn't truly met any people yet, Umi could understand that the way she had pictured things had been childish and immature. Having been living in a lake for 24 years, she couldn't just crawl out and expect everything would be waiting on a platter for her—working hard and struggling with it all would have been the only way she would have gotten anywhere. But so far Umi wasn't even sure if she could do that; look where she had gotten herself! She wouldn't even be remaining human forever; and _then_ what would she do?

Then abruptly the idea of Kisame appeared in her head. For as long as she could remember, she had had visions of Kisame; of him being in her life somehow. He was connected to all of this, and he had to be able to help her. If there was some way she could search for him; he didn't exactly look like the majority of people out there—if she asked around...but she shook her head, glaring once more. Even if she did ask—even if somebody _did_ know where he was—what could she do? He might be on the other side of the world, and she couldn't travel there on her own with the little knowledge she knew, and then how would she explain the situation? 'Yeah, I've been having visions of you my whole life, and I'm pretty sure you're the only one who can help me stay human considering normally I'm kind of a mermaid, so...help me out?' Like he'd believe and accept that. Panic now started to take over Umi; where would she go? What would she do? Her feet were aching and her head was pounding like a drum—she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold out. She glanced behind her to make sure no one was following—

Only to find she was on her back a moment later.

Groaning in pain, Umi slowly sat up, placing a hand to her head with how the impact had made her head spin. What had happened, she didn't know, but trying to shake it off, she looked up; but her original theory had been proven wrong. Where she had thought she had run into a tree, having not been looking in the right direction, Umi found she had run into a person. Gazing up at them, their bright green eyes stared deep into her own, glaring slightly at what she had done. All she could do was return their stare, half scared and half wondrous at who this person was. She could sense so many things now, and there was something about him that was different. It was hard to concentrate, however, with her head spinning like it was, and soon she had to put her hand back to her head, taking deep breaths to try and clear it—she didn't know what this guy would do, and she couldn't help but swallow as several others joined him.

Kakuzu stared down at Umi as she sat there, wary and tense at the situation. Normally he would have responded in anger, but considering the circumstances, things were a little different. She was barely clothed, with a ripped crop top on and...well, nothing else. Her long blonde hair swept down her shoulders, though it was drenched—and so was she. Considering they were so close to the lake, it was obvious she had been in the water; but something about her wasn't right. She seemed unsure of herself; of her body and everything around her. From the way she was looking at him it was like it was a new experience entirely, and Kakuzu could sense her chakra from where he was standing. Shifting slightly, he turned to look at the others to get a second opinion on what to do with her—somehow outright killing Umi wasn't something he felt was right; and it was at that point that he noticed something else. A tattoo was placed on her chest, right across her upper torso; an intricate tribal one that was almost glowing in the light. Kakuzu's mind began to race as he considered all the factors; but as Itachi stepped up beside him, he knew what was going on, and flicking his gaze up into Itachi's eyes, Kakuzu stated firmly,

"She's the mermaid—the girl. She has to be."

Instantly Itachi nodded in agreement, having thought it all over too, and glanced back at her, wondering what had happened. Somehow she had changed into a human; so therefore that meant someone else had the stone—and they had made her go through the change. But clearly she hadn't wanted it, and she had run away from them; only now she had nowhere to go, and she was injured, and from the looks of things, lightheaded. But Umi had sensed they had made their decision about her, had heard Kakuzu's words, and started backing up, crawling and trying to stand in order to start running once more. She'd gone from one bad thing to another, and she was starting to wonder what direction she had left to go in. Seeing they were beginning to come after her, she lashed out and began to turn to get up, Kakuzu dodging in order to avoid it before grabbing her arm and spinning her back round.

But it was then that she noticed something else.

They all wore black cloaks; the insides red—but that wasn't what mattered. It was the design that was emblazoned all over them; each and every ninja that stood in front of her—and they definitely had to be ninjas. The same image that Umi had always seen in her visions was now staring her in the face, and she abruptly calmed down, staring at it in shock. In the last few minutes everything had changed and she didn't understand a thing anymore, all that was around her strange and incomprehensible. But now she could see something she _did_ know; that she had always known and in a way, was comforting. And with that knowledge she was reminded of her situation; of how she could become a full human and come to wield her power...of the rest of her visions. Glancing up into their faces once more, Umi saw them begin to fade as she lost consciousness, whispering only,

"Kisame..."


	4. Chapter 4

They could only stare at Umi in shock.

How the hell did she know Kisame?

Or better yet—why hadn't he mentioned _he_ knew _her_?

Whatever the situation was, no one quite understood it; but either way, the girl was who they'd been looking for—and that meant she had to come with them. Kakuzu stepped forward to pick her up and carry her back to the hideout, when a noise caught his attention. Tensing, they all looked up, finding there were several ninjas heading towards them at full pelt, kunai's unsheathed and looking ready for a fight. Immediately deducing that these were the guys who had turned her human and had been planning on using her power, they all reacted accordingly, pulling out weapons or falling into a defensive stance to fight back, forming a circle round Umi to protect her. Maybe if the ninja had known who they were, they would have been slightly less confrontational about the whole situation—but having dived into it headfirst, it wasn't long until all of them were dead, simply corpses dotted around the place.

With that taken care of, however, they turned back to Umi, ready to take her back to the hideout. This time it was Itachi who stepped forward, peeling off his cloak to wrap it around her, gently picking her up bridal style and beginning to walk back they way they had come. With the others all thinking the same thing, they merely walked in silence, trying to get back as quickly as possible and figure this whole thing out. She had definitely said Kisame—it had been when she'd seen their cloaks that she had calmed down and stop struggling to get away. But how did she know him? Itachi searched through his memories of having known Kisame, and he knew he'd never mentioned her; even when they had been told about the mission, that a girl was involved and what they knew of her story...Kisame hadn't said a thing. So that left two possibilities; either Kisame _did_ know her, and didn't want anyone to know about it, hoping that she would have forgotten him by now—or he didn't know who she was; but instead it was Umi who knew about Kisame. Whatever way round things were, there were still several questions to be answered, and as such everyone continued on, their hurried pace causing them to arrive back at the hideout not long afterwards.

Walking through the corridors, Itachi instantly headed to the spare room, gently laying her down on the bed and covering her up as Pein joined him by his side. As Itachi turned to look at him, he stared down at Umi, frowning in confusion and contemplation; a lot had changed since this morning, when he didn't know how in the hell he was going to find the gem, let alone get it to the girl. But now she was lying in front of him, and he turned to Itachi for answers, leaving the room for a moment but remaining by the door to keep guard.

It hadn't been long after that that Umi had woken up.

Blinking slowly, she shook her head to get rid of the dizziness, finding things were a lot clearer now—but she was somewhere completely different. Narrowing her eyes in confusion, Umi sat up, gazing around the room and trying to remember what exactly had happened. Then suddenly everything hit her in a rush, and gritting her teeth, she frowned, unsure what to do. Those men...their cloaks...with the same symbols she saw in her visions...it was significant somehow. But after all that had happened to her recently, she couldn't tell if it had been a warning, or merely a sign that they were coming. They had come towards her; tried to grab her without saying so much as a word of explanation, just like the others had done. How did she know they weren't as bad—or worse, considering they had succeeded in taking her back to their hideout? No; she wouldn't be as stupid as she had been before—she'd keep on her toes and trust no one until she understood the whole situation. But she had to find out more, and as such, started to get out of bed.

As she did so, she noticed she was no longer naked; one of the cloaks wrapped around her in order to give a little dignity, and for a moment, Umi hesitated, surprised at the gesture, slowly running her hands over the symbol. But she couldn't trust them; not yet, and so she simply put it on properly, padding over to the door; freezing as she heard people just outside. Using her abilities to fully hear the conversation, she leant in, waiting to hear what they had to say. Pein was facing Itachi expectantly, and with one last glance at the room, he looked Pein in the eye and finally began,

"To be honest, Leader-sama, there's not that much to tell. We were walking towards the lake to see if we could find her; when someone ran straight into Kakuzu. When we looked round, she was there; but it has to be her. She has the pointy ears; she was soaking wet, which obviously meant she had been in the lake, and she has that tattoo on her chest. After she passed out, ninja turned up, having been chasing her; it only strengthens the idea that she is the one in the legends—she's the mermaid."

"They must have found the gem—it was why _we_ couldn't find it. Then they changed her into human in order to get to her power," Pein replied slowly, still thinking over the threat that remained out there and what he should do about it now, before Itachi cut off his thoughts quietly,

"But...there was something else. When we stopped her from running away...the moment she saw our cloaks; she stopped fighting. She just sat there staring at it as if she knew what it meant—and then just before she passed out, she said Kisame's name."

"Yes, the others mentioned that. She's staying here—that much I know, at least—but until Kisame gets here, until she wakes up...I can't know anymore."

Cursing mentally, Umi quickly backed up from the door. They were forcing her to stay here; but they knew Kisame. If she stayed a little longer, until he turned up, then maybe she could...But it wouldn't work. If she wasted too much time, then they could have her right where they wanted her, and she would have no choice but to use her power for them. She knew she didn't like the idea of them making her remain in the hideout, and if Kisame was working with them, then how did she know she could trust him, either? Her dreams, or visions, or whatever they were, had never specified what he was supposed to mean to Umi in her life, and therefore, for all she knew he could be her biggest rival! But she couldn't just wait around to find all this out; she had to get out of here, and get out of here _now_. The door, naturally, was a no-no, considering they were both standing there talking, and glancing towards the window, Umi at first brushed it off, thinking they would have made sure she couldn't get out—until she remembered she was supposed to be unconscious. She _had_ recovered pretty quickly, and so they probably still thought she was passed out—they wouldn't have bothered with the window just yet.

So slowly making her way over to the window, Umi gently gripped the bottom and pulled, grinning as she found it slid up easily—they hadn't locked it. Thankful something in her life was going right at the moment, Umi quickly clambered out, scanning the forest before picking any direction; not bothered with where she was going, just that she was getting away. With that, she took one last look inside the hideout, passing a thought to Kisame and who he might be...before hardening her heart and pushing onwards. She had made her decision, and she wouldn't be locked up like a weapon, to be controlled and manipulated. She might have lived in a lake all her life, but she wasn't stupid—and she wouldn't be made a fool of.

"She'll most likely wake up soon—though she does have some injuries on her," Itachi added swiftly, to which Pein nodded, stating that they'd clean her up—make sure she was alright—and that they'd have someone to keep an eye on her. Everything was uncertain at the moment, and Pein just wanted things to hurry up so he knew where he stood, reaching for the handle and opening the door to check on Umi one last time, only for Itachi to narrow his eyes as Pein's face went blank, a sudden frown appearing on his face.

"Get out there—now. She's gone."


	5. Chapter 5

Pein flung open the door and went over to the open window, staring out through the trees—but like he'd been expecting, he saw nothing. Gathering she had woken up while he'd been talking with Itachi, he span around and told Itachi to track her; to find her and bring her back immediately. She couldn't have gone far, and considering she was injured, tired, confused and unfamiliar with the land, so it wouldn't take long for Itachi to find her. Nodding once in acceptance, Itachi disappeared from the room and into the forest, finding her trail straight away. Pein could only watch, half angry and half accepting of what she had done. Although it made things more difficult, meaning he had to send out Itachi to look for her, at the same time, it _was_ expected. To wake up in a foreign room after having passed out in front of a group of strangers wasn't exactly the situation where you immediately sit back, accept it all and greet those around you with a friendly smile and an open mind. Clenching his fists, Pein glared at the forest—Kisame had better get here soon. He'd better be able to sort all of this out.

No pressure meant.

Itachi sped on after Umi's trail, impressed with just how quickly she'd gotten away, even in her current state. Her power was legendary, though, so it couldn't be _too_ surprising. If he continued on fast enough, Itachi would catch up with her soon, however; she was using all her energy on increasing her speed, and at this rate, with her injuries and her general exhaustion...she'd burn out relatively easily. But he doubted she was thinking too rationally. Two sets of people had tried to come after her today, one of which stuck her in a building and were most likely going to force her to stay there. Having not dealt with this world much, Itachi could guess Umi was scared and unsure of how things would turn out now. All that mattered was getting away, and she was going to use all her power to do it. In a way, Itachi pitied her, and felt guilty for chasing her like this—she was penned in from all sides, and afraid to turn to anyone in fear they would take her power, too. He didn't exactly want to frighten her...but it was his job, and he'd do the best he could.

But Umi was getting paranoid. Those guys were good; she had sensed it on Kakuzu when she had first seen him—what if they had already figured out she was gone? What if they were already chasing after her with intent on locking her up in a _cell_ this time? 'Leader-sama', or whoever that guy was, hadn't sounded particularly happy with the whole situation; he sounded weary with how things had turned out. If he found her after she'd run away like this...he might be tired of how difficult she was making things. But realising what she was doing, Umi shook her head, clenching her fists and glaring at the path in front of her. They might have several advantages over her, and she might be nervous—but she couldn't just sit back! Did they really expect her to sit there and take the idea that they were forcing her into staying there; forcing her to use her abilities for them? There's no way she'd let them do that—and as such she built up her power again to speed up.

Only this time it didn't have quite the effect she wanted.

A surge of strength went through her body; only for it to suddenly cut off, and to leave Umi feeling weaker than before. Shocked at what was happening, as well as the fact her legs were weaker and her chest was heaving, Umi's legs collapsed from underneath her, causing her to tumble across the ground and eventually come to a halt a few metres onwards against a tree. Groaning in pain, Umi pushed herself back, trying to return the strength to her legs and push herself to continue onwards, but her body seemed to have lost its defiance, even if her mind was the opposite. Unsteadily she got to her feet, holding onto the tree for support, but when she tried to set off once more, the same thing happened; she collapsed into a heap, sitting there glaring in frustration. She didn't feel upset; like crying—she felt angry. What in the hell had she ever done to deserve this? It didn't exactly help that she sensed someone's presence a moment later, a shadow appearing over her shoulder from across the clearing.

"You need to rest; you can't keep running like you have," he greeted softly, his voice a lot calmer than Umi had been expecting. But shaking her head, she kept her back to him, scowling down at her body and cursing it all mentally before she finally spat back,

"I know I can't win against you; I know you're powerful—that you have the Sharingan. I know I'm injured and I'm tired, and I have no idea where I'm going. But I will not—just sit back and let you do whatever the hell you want to me. I will fight and struggle all the way. Everyone thinks I'm this clueless little girl who has no understanding of anything—"

"Then clearly they underestimate you," Itachi quickly shot back, causing Umi to fall silent.

Itachi, too, hadn't been expecting what she had said; that she knew of the Sharingan. He had thought that she had no idea about the ninja world or anything on shore—but instead she knew more than people thought. She had gone to the effort of finding out what she could...and therefore he knew he had wrongly underestimated her. But it was with Itachi's words that Umi managed to calm down; that she managed to realise that she had to think about this rationally and calmly. He hadn't _done_ anything to yet, and she didn't truly know all of what had happened. If this guy had the answers...there was no reason not to listen to him. Slowly she turned around, to see a young boy standing a little way away from her, his Sharingan eyes staring intensely over at her and revealing him as an Uchiha. There was nothing about him that Umi could sense that was fully malicious, his eyes merely tranquil and calm; but then she noticed something else. He was from the same group as the guy she had bumped into, she knew that; but he wasn't wearing his cloak. Though knowing she was sitting there wearing one herself, Umi couldn't help but question softly,

"This...is your cloak? You gave it to me?"

"Yes. You didn't have any clothes on; I felt I should respect your dignity," he returned gently, before continuing,

"I—none of us—are here to hurt you. I know things are strange right now; that you don't understand. But we can help you figure it out. My name's Itachi Uchiha; I work for the Akatsuki, and—"

"The Akatsuki? Th-that's what the cloaks stand for?" She cut in, glancing down as she whispered the word once more. Nodding in agreement, Itachi then slowly began to walk across the clearing to her, never taking his eyes off hers once. Knowing she was wavering in her defences, Umi turned and started backing up, placing her hands up in front of her as her back met the tree and she found she had nowhere else to go. But once Itachi reached a few paces distance from Umi, he stopped, respecting her personal space and keeping his distance. Once again Umi was brought to a standstill, without a clue as to how to react to all of this. He was nothing like she had imagined he would be if he had caught up with her; showing no anger towards her in the slightest. She didn't want to trust him; she had allowed herself to relax in that guy's presence before, and then she had been attacked out of nowhere; she wouldn't let it happen again. Though at the same time her mind was reminding her that Itachi was nothing like those other guys had been; he was approaching her from the front, speaking to her and trying to explain everything; and as she tried to make sense of her conflicting thoughts, Itachi added softly,

"I can take you to meet Kisame; I know you know him somehow."

"I don't...I mean...it's complicated," Umi breathed, sighing in defeat, signalling Itachi to fully approach her, gently laying a hand on her shoulder.

"I can help you understand things a little better—if you come back to the hideout with me."

For a moment Umi paused, contemplating it, but with a sliver of her curiosity returning to her, she nodded slowly, abruptly remembering her legs; her body and the state it was in to say apologetically,

"My legs, though...I got injured, and with everything that happened..."

"Don't worry; I can help with that, too. Look at me," Itachi suddenly breathed, and narrowing her eyes as she wondered what he meant, Umi glanced up, only to get caught in his gaze. A second of panic passed through her at the idea he was going to hurt her; but she could sense this wasn't an attack; he was merely...sending her to sleep. The power stopped her from being affected for a moment, but slowly Umi began to feel drowsy, her eyelids fluttering, until eventually she slumped forward, Itachi there and ready to catch her, before he gently picked her up and walked back the way he came; hoping this would be the last time he'd have to carry her unconscious body back to the hideout.


	6. Chapter 6

By the time Kisame got back to the hideout, Umi had been cleaned up, dressed and bandages placed around her injuries, still sleeping soundly in her bed.

But Kisame wasn't feeling quite as peaceful.

Pein had ordered him to come back to the hideout straight away, and had acted kind of stern towards it. He'd mentioned the girl a few times, and Kisame got the feeling that something was going on that was concerned only with him; or better yet, something to do with the _girl_ that was concerned with only him. A theory that was proven right the moment he walked through the door to the hideout. He had walked down the corridor like he would normally do, halting by the lounge door and going inside to see what was going on. But the moment he did so, everyone was on their feet, coming over to him and asking him questions. Blinking in surprise, Kisame could only stare at them in confusion and as to what they were getting at, trying to explain he did not have a clue. None of them let up, however, until Pein finally entered the room, telling them all to shut up and to allow him to talk to Kisame himself. So doing so, they all backed off for a moment, Pein walking forwards to question bluntly,

"You know her, Kisame; why didn't you say anything?"

"What? Know _who_, Leader-sama?" Kisame blurted in return, getting slightly worried about where all this was going. But Pein persisted, never taking his eyes of Kisame as he continued,

"The girl we've been looking for—the _mermaid._"

But at that, Kisame's face altered into one of complete and utter disbelief, almost wanting to ask Pein if it was a joke, if it hadn't been for the look on his face. What the hell was going on here? One minute he's walking with the others to get to a village; asking a few questions, finding out a bit of information...and the next everyone's accusing him of knowing a mermaid. Shaking his head, Kisame remained adamant, responding as firmly as possible,

"I swear to you, Leader, that I have no idea who she is. I do not know, or never have known, any mermaids—why are you even asking me this?"

"She said your name, Kisame, right before she passed out," Kakuzu cut in simply, Kisame blinking in surprise, finding it hard to bite back a laugh at how ridiculous this all seemed. Wondering how in the hell he was going to get out of this one, Kisame retaliated,

"But I don't know her! Are you sure she didn't say something that _sounded_ like Kisame?"

Not taking no for an answer, Pein gestured for him to follow and led him down the corridor to Umi's room, everyone following on after him. Pausing in front of the door, Pein's hand hovered over the handle for a moment, but with one last glance at Kisame, he quietly opened the door and led him in, making sure everyone else remained outside. Umi was still asleep, her breathing the only sound in the room for the moment, and instantly Kisame felt like saying they should leave; that it wasn't right to be in there when she was asleep in case he woke her up. His eyes remained on her body as she lay there, unsure why he felt so strongly about this, until Pein jolted him out of his thoughts to state quietly,

"I'm not saying I think you're lying, Kisame—but she said your name. Somehow or other she knows who you are. Go on; look at her. Do you recognise her from anywhere? From _any_ time in your past? Because she seems to know you well."

Kisame hesitated for a moment, unsure what to do, but eventually turned and padded over to the bed. Once again feeling like he should let her sleep, he sighed imperceptibly and leant over to properly look at Umi, starting to feel as if he _should_ know her somehow—everyone was pushing the idea enough. But shaking that idea off, Kisame leant over and finally got to see her. Her long blonde hair swept over her shoulder as she slept, her chest rising and falling steadily while she laid there. Watching her for a second or two, an absentminded smile flickered over his face at how sweet she looked—but he didn't know who she was; glancing over his shoulder to state simply,

"No. I've no idea who she is—I've never met her."

Knowing everyone was as confused as he was now, Kisame glanced one more time in Umi's direction before beginning to turn away from her, only to freeze as her eyes abruptly flashed open. Snapping his head round to look at her again, Kisame was immediately caught in her eyes, suddenly unaware of everyone else around him staring at him in confusion; all that mattered was Umi. He couldn't look away as she gently reached up and tilted his face to fully look at her, whispering gently with a soft smile,

"Kisame..."

Slowly she ran her fingers across his face, from his forehead, down his nose and over his lips, Kisame remaining entranced all the while. Suddenly, while staring into her intense, sapphire-blue eyes, he realised just how beautiful Umi was; a shiver running up his spine—as if he sensed something no one else could. There was something more to her than he had first thought there would be. He didn't know what it was about her; but whatever it was, it wouldn't leave his mind. With only one look he felt like he could understand her completely; it strangely felt like he _did_ know her, but not in the usual way. More like it was a soul connection, deeper than the usual meeting face to face and talking to get to know each other. It was a higher feeling than that. But as he stared into Umi's face, Kisame was certain that on top of that ethereal connection they seemed to share, he wanted to get to know her. He wanted to be close to her in the way that everyone had thought he was when she first said his name. Why she had said it—how she knew it—Kisame hadn't a clue...but he didn't care. He wanted her to know it; it made him feel singular that Umi had picked him out of everybody else around him. The confusion that had arisen within him had all but disappeared by now, and he simply observed silently as she finally closed her eyes once more, drifting back into a deep sleep.

Blinking, as if to get rid of the trance she had put on him, Kisame turned round and faced the others once more, feeling just as surprised as they looked. None of them had been expecting anything like that to happen, and for a moment there was silence as Kisame and Pein stepped out of the room and closed the door behind them, both still thinking about what had occurred. It wasn't until Deidara finally began to speak up that things seemed to move back into real time as he questioned softly,

"What just happened there, un?"

"I'm not entirely sure. But Kisame...she knows you. You saw it for yourself; she treated you like you were close. How can you stand there and not know a thing about her?" Pein responded slowly, turning to Kisame in confusion—but Kisame looked as bewildered as everyone else, staring down the corridor thoughtfully. At first it looked like he wasn't about to answer at all, until he abruptly shook his head gently, responding simply,

"I don't know, Leader-sama. I know what she said...how she acted...but I have never seen her before in my life. I have no idea who she is. But somehow...she feels connected to me."

Pein shook his head, stating that there was nothing more they could do until she woke up again when she felt better and was healed. Then they could ask some more questions and figure this all out. So—with everyone quieter than usual—they all turned from Umi's room and headed off to do whatever they had before, leaving Kisame standing behind. To begin with, he didn't move, twisting his head to look at her door, thinking over so many things. Then slowly; hesitantly, he walked towards his room, not feeling like talking to anyone or doing anything right now. All Kisame felt he could right now...was think.

Because he was starting to consider the idea that his relationship with Umi was stronger than he had first thought.


	7. Chapter 7

The next time Umi woke up, she felt a lot calmer than she had done before.

Though she didn't truly know where this building was, she had been in the room before, and she had had this experience before—and ultimately that meant it was at least a little bit familiar. With there being so much she didn't understand or know about at the moment, to have one thing she could comprehend allowed her to remain calm and relax—even with all the people she knew would be outside that door and in the rest of the place. Taking a deep breath, she slowly pushed herself up, propping herself up on her elbow until she could take a better look at the room. It wasn't anything special; merely the basics that a room needed: a bed, bedside tables, a closet, desk and chair—though she did have her own bathroom. But to be honest, it didn't matter to Umi. She hadn't spent enough time up on shore to know the extravagant from the plain, so to her, this was fine. Smirking at that thought, Umi fully sat up, wondering what to do next. After having spoken to Itachi, she knew she wasn't about to run away again—but she'd been asleep. Was she supposed to tell somebody, or would they want her to stay in the room? How long had she been asleep in the first place?

Then suddenly Umi froze, remembering something else.

She'd met Kisame—well, sort of.

As she sat there, flashes of memories hit her, almost like it had been a dream. His face appearing above her...staring into his eyes...touching his face...Though she hadn't truly been conscious at the time, somehow that feeling that Umi always got in her visions when he was present had arisen when she had seen him at that moment. Every time she got the dream, when he was gone, she felt empty and alone, but when Kisame appeared, then things were different. It was like she knew everything would be alright; things would be better—she felt herself change in the visions, and when Kisame was there, she remained in that state—but then it occurred to her. She was human now; and abruptly Umi smiled, biting her lip at the prospect of having legs for more than just one day. Slipping her legs out from underneath the covers, she brushed her fingers over them, wiggling her toes. She'd had legs before, but somehow this time it was so much more important; it was a bigger deal, and she'd finally get used to using them over the days. But where would she be during this time? Were these guys going to keep her here—with Kisame? How was she even going to remain human if she was around them, anyway? Though then Umi realised—Kisame had something to do with it. Umi wouldn't stay this way forever, she knew that; sooner or later she would return to being a mermaid, and she might have lost her only chance of becoming a human. The only problem was she didn't know how to make the change permanent—but it had to do with Kisame. If she could just figure it out—

"Oh; so you're awake, huh?" A quiet voice abruptly spoke up from the doorway, and snapping her head round to face it, Umi saw Itachi standing there, coming over quietly and nodding in greeting. For a moment, Umi said nothing in return, nodding gently her only response; but Itachi gathered she was feeling nervous, and so he questioned quietly,

"Are you feeling better? After your injuries? There's water—if you want it."

Glancing to the side, Umi finally noticed the water, and looking back into Itachi's eyes she realised that things didn't seem so bad now she had taken the time to consider them. They had put her somewhere safe; they had dressed her, healed her and given her food and drink—it was just what they wanted her for that made Umi nervous. But slowly she reached for the glass and drank some of the water, replying softly after she was done,

"You did all this, Itachi-san? B-but why?"

"We'll explain everything to you, I promise—but I think it's best I'm not the one to do so. Wait; I'll be back in a moment," he explained, before turning and disappearing as quickly as he had arrived.

Umi gulped down the rest of the water afterwards, her gaze constantly darting over to the door as she contemplated what might happen next. Itachi had been talking to his leader the last time she had been there; what was he going to be like? Would he be angry for what she had done? She couldn't tell. Instead she sat in silence, contemplating how she was going to stay a human; and how she was going to deal with the rest of the people here—when the door opened once more. Glancing over, Umi opened her mouth, ready to apologise instantly to their leader, when she froze, surprised, as it wasn't their leader who entered—it was Kisame. Immediately feeling embarrassed after what she had done in her dream state, Umi looked down, staring down at her legs and absentmindedly rubbing them, not able to look him in the eye. Pein nodded in Kisame's direction from outside the door, murmuring 'I'll leave the explanation to you', before closing the door and leaving them alone. Kisame himself wasn't feeling too confident, having no idea what to say to her. He had no idea who she was, and yet felt this deep connection; and she seemed to know so much about him. What could he do to begin this conversation? But as he noticed she continued stroking her legs, wiggling her toes, Kisame couldn't help but smirk, remembering she had once been a mermaid, and asked casually,

"Is it weird? Having legs after so long?"

Umi frowned in confusion, having not expected him to ask that; strangely happy that he was trying to be friendly with her—but still kept her head down as she shrugged, replying as nonchalantly as she possibly could,

"Yeah, I guess. I mean; I turn into a human every year on my birthday, but it's weird every time the change happens—I'm just not used to it. I'm usually horizontal, you know?"

Laughing quietly together, Umi finally felt it safe to look up; though seeing him staring intently back at her she looked away once more. How would she begin to explain her situation? Though she felt that connection there; one she had always known would exist when she met him, it didn't mean she felt comfortable in his presence. There were so many things to take into account. Umi was pretty certain his group were after her power as well as the men who had changed her in the first place, so even _if_ she felt connected to Kisame, that would be one of the main things she would need to think through. Not to mention her visions and what they meant. They had only just met, having barely spoken to each other and knowing nothing about each other as people; Umi couldn't exactly sit there and tell him she'd had visions of him all her life. Plus, there was what she had done when half-asleep. She had started touching his face and _stroking _him; that must have looked really weird to the outside world—she hadn't been able to tell what his reaction was; he'd just been staring at her. When it came down to it, there was only so much that connection could do for Umi. For all she knew, Kisame felt nothing, only pressured into doing all this because she had said his name before she passed out. Abruptly feeling guilty for all this, she sighed, only focusing back in on the real world again as Kisame said softly,

"But, uh...I don't actually know who you are. I'm Kisame Hoshigaki, as you already seem to know, but you are..."

Once again a smile flickered over Umi's face at how hesitant he was being; like he didn't want to offend her in any way. The memory of how she felt in the vision when Kisame appeared came back to her, and she felt herself softening. She didn't know what was going to happen next, true; but unless she helped herself then she wouldn't get anywhere. She knew Kisame was something to do with her remaining human, so she couldn't dismiss him; and as such she forced herself to look up, smiling, to state sweetly in return,

"Umi. My name's Umi."

"Umi..." Kisame breathed, smiling straight back at her.

Well, at least the first hurdle was over...


	8. Chapter 8

Abruptly realising just what he was doing, Kisame coughed and looked away, that awkward feeling returning in full force.

Holding back a laugh at how this was going; both being adults and perfectly capable of conversing and yet unable to look each other in the eye and act _normal_, Umi shook her head, fiddling with her fingers as she tried to think of a way to tell Kisame. She would have to mention it some time, and it was better she got it over and done with; at least now they were both strangers—to a degree, she didn't care about his opinion as much. If she let time go by and they became friends, it would only seem weirder when she revealed she'd known who he was all her life because she'd dreamt of him that entire time. She contemplated coming out with it subtly, hinting at the situation; but she knew it wouldn't get her anywhere. There was only one way to go about this, and as such, Umi took a deep breath, hoping he wouldn't completely freak out as she began softly,

"But, uh...yeah. I _do_ know who you are, even though you don't know me. It's...well, it's complicated, but I know you need to know. We're kinda in the same boat here, after all; so many things must be confusing for you in the same way a lot of things are confusing for me. So if explain it...maybe it will help. How much do you know about me?"

"Well, I know you're normally a mermaid, and it took a special gem to make you change into a human. I know you can only use your power when you're a human...and that's about it," Kisame offered in return, stepping a bit closer as she finally began to talk properly. And nodding in acceptance of those facts, Umi swallowed hard in preparation for the next step, before forcing herself to continue,

"Yeah, that's pretty much the basics, I guess, but...the thing is, I get dreams that reveal things about my life; kinda like visions, you know? I've had them for as long as I can remember, and they've always been the same. It's me on my own, just doing nothing, and clouds appear around me. I never understood what they were, but after this, I know they're the symbol for the Akatsuki; the ones on your cloaks. But then something else always appears; you. When everything starts to fade away, I just hear your name—and then it all disappears. _That_'s how I know who you are."

Kisame, for a moment, couldn't respond to that as Umi finished, taken back with her words. She'd had visions about him...always the same thing with _him_ being in every one. Not only that, but she had said she'd had them for as long as she could remember—therefore she'd known who he was from when she was little! All this time and she had known his name without him having a clue that Umi existed, and to begin with he simply stared at her in shock. Glancing up at him as she heard nothing in return, Umi saw his expression and sighed, turning to the window. Maybe it would have been better if she'd just stayed silent—now things were just going to get awkward, and he'd end up freaking out; and yet somehow with her reaction, it gave the opposite effect on Kisame. Blinking to get rid of his surprise, he took the time to observe Umi for a moment, beginning to understand her a little more. True, she had had these visions her entire life and therefore known who he was...but she hadn't asked for them. The images had just popped up into her head, and she couldn't exactly push them away. There had to have been a time when she considered what it would be like to meet him; if he found out, and suddenly Kisame relaxed, realising how difficult it must have been to admit it—and when it came down to it, it did answer a major question he'd been thinking about recently. Maybe it was that deep connection he'd felt; he didn't know, but Kisame wasn't about to dismiss Umi after finding this out. So managing to get over his surprise, Kisame took another step forward to question simply,

"But why?"

Freezing, Umi twisted her gaze to look over at Kisame, blinking in surprise. She'd thought he would have just left the room by this point, but looking over at him she saw he was facing her, his eyes focused and intense, ready to talk. He'd accepted the fact she'd had visions about him, and an abrupt smile broke out over Umi's face as she answered,

"I'm not sure, to be honest—but I think it's to do with my situation. Usually I turn into a human on my birthday for one day, like I said before. But with the stone, it means I'll stay as a human for roughly two weeks or so. If, in that time, I find the key to keeping me a human, then I will remain like this; but otherwise...I return to being a mermaid. So I guess from the visions...it means it's got something to do with you."

Looking down as he contemplated this, Kisame eventually looked up, coming fully over to the bed now to explain everything else on his part. He told her everything she needed to know; who the Akatsuki were and what they did, how they had been going to talk to Umi about finding the stone when they had run into her, and most importantly—why they wanted her in the first place. She hadn't even noticed her hands fiddling around in her lap as she began to get nervous at what his answer would be, the memories of those guys grabbing her and pulling her out of the water still fresh in her mind. But she was once again surprised as he admitted that yes, they wanted Umi's power...but they wanted her to join the organization in order to _use_ that power. It wasn't a case of standing there and telling her to fight something, then for her to return to a room until she was needed again. She would be a ninja and doing missions with the others as a job; she'd be a part of the group. Staring at Kisame's face in shock, Umi felt all the nerves simply drop away from her stomach, being replaced with that same childish excitement that always arose whenever she had thought of being a human. This was the kind of thing she had dreamed of; being a ninja and working for a group; having a place to go and something to do—somewhere she belonged.

Only for her to remember that it wouldn't always be that way.

She would change back into a mermaid in a fortnight's time, after all; and that dream would be gone. Agreeing to the proposition was definitely something Umi was up for—but unless she figured out what the key was to keeping her human, then it would all be for nothing. The Akatsuki searching, her helping them out...everything would be erased and they'd be back to square one. Only it wouldn't be something they could try again; once she changed back into a mermaid this time, it would be forever, and dreaming of being a human would be rendered useless. But Umi wasn't about to give up on it yet. Frowning down at her lap, Umi furiously began thinking over all she knew; there had to be an answer somewhere. She wouldn't have been given this power and had the option of becoming human if there was no way for her to stay this way. But what was it? Her visions had included the Akatsuki symbol; so staying in the Akatsuki was certainly something she was going to do while she was human. But that wouldn't be enough; it wouldn't stop her from changing back—so what was it? There _was_ the other part to her vision of course—Kisame. Was he supposed to help her somehow? Did he hold the key? There was no indication that he did. But he wouldn't have specifically appeared in her visions if he meant nothing; there were eight other Akatsuki members, and none of them had appeared; only Kisame. That meant he was special in some way, and as Umi sat there and thought about it, she couldn't help but think that he was to do with her staying human.

Glancing up at him, Umi knew it wasn't certain what the full details were, but she would have to keep him close. By doing that, she'd have to come across the answer eventually. So as Kisame finished she grinned in his direction, thanking him for coming in and explaining it all to her, graciously accepting the offer to stay in the Akatsuki and work with them while they tried to figure out how to keep her human.

Little did Umi know it would be easier to keep Kisame close than she had first expected...


	9. Chapter 9

"Wait...you're okay with this, Umi? I mean, you're not going to protest?" Kisame shot back in confusion, only for Umi to smile and shake her head, shrugging as she responded simply,

"I don't really have much idea about the world up here, Kisame-san. I mean, I know stuff about ninja abilities and things that have occurred in the world like wars and stuff...but there's so much I don't know. The village isn't my home, either—now I'm out of the lake...there's nowhere for me to go. But you've given me a place to stay and are willing to help me out, so...I don't see any reason why I should say no."

Laughing at her explanation, Kisame admitted Umi had a point—halting himself from going to tell Pein that she was willing to stay as he realised that now she was joining the Akatsuki, she was going to have to deal with the rest of them, too. As such, he turned back, offering to give her a little advice on the personalities of each member of the Akatsuki and what it was best to do to keep them calm—a beginner's guide, really. And giggling at the idea, Umi nodded and confessed she'd probably need it, inviting Kisame to sit down when he simply stood by the side of her bed. At first, Kisame hesitated, unsure whether to do so or not, but as he looked back into her deep sapphire eyes he gave in, that connection between them overriding any reluctance he may have had before. But as he spoke and told Umi about the organization, she couldn't help but laugh at almost everything he said. For an S-class criminal, she had to admit, he had a pretty good sense of humour. By the time he had finished, Umi was wiping her eyes free of tears, sliding her legs off the bed and placing her feet on the floor as Kisame went to the door to tell Pein. Stating she was just going to the bathroom, Umi stood up and began to head over to the bathroom; forgetting completely that she hadn't quite got used to her legs yet—which ultimately meant she instantly collapsed towards the floor.

Though she didn't quite make it there.

Without her having even noticed, Kisame had come back, having noticed Umi falling, and with his strong arms now wrapped around her waist, he gently lifted her back up until she was standing, smiling gently when she looked over sheepishly to joke softly,

"Not used to being vertical yet, huh?"

Giggling, Umi's laugh petered out a moment later as she fully noticed the way Kisame was holding her. Being a mermaid—in a lake where there were no others, only fish—she didn't exactly get much human contact. Even when she changed into a human on her birthday, the villagers didn't exactly give her hugs and link arms with her when she arrived; anything but. So overall, in Umi's life, she hadn't ever really gotten close to people; so to have Kisame's arms around her like they were now; with his torso pressed against hers and their bodies this close to each other, she couldn't help but blush and look away, not knowing what to do. She might know the English language back to front, but some words hadn't ever meant anything to her, and regardless of how many humans she watched for their behaviour together...it was altogether different when she herself was in that sort of situation, prompting her to merely mumble a thank you in return. Spotting her reaction, however, Kisame decided to cut her a little slack, stepping back a little as he suggested sweetly,

"Don't worry about it; but considering you're not too great on your legs yet, it might be best if I help you out a little before I go to find Leader. Come on, let's get you used to your legs."

Nodding in agreement, wanting to be able to use them without help, Umi braced herself against the floor, allowing Kisame to hold her arm gently and prop her up as she walked slowly across the floor and into the bathroom. Even when she went in, Kisame stayed put outside, knowing she'd need help walking back over to the bed, which he did once she was finished, finally going over to the door as she got back into bed, pointing out that all Umi had to do was ask for something if she needed it as he left, bowing sarcastically as he closed the door.

Laughing to herself in the silence, Umi laid back against the pillows as she waited for 'Leader' to finally appear, the smile still evident on her face as she remembered everything Kisame had said about the Akatsuki. 'He's silent and solemn, but he's alright; he always tries to stop anyone from arguing, anyway. But, uh...he's got the Rinnegan, and orange hair...and a _ton_ of piercings; they're like all over him—well, as far as I know, anyway...' Giggling once more as she remembered his words, Umi shook her head at the memory and looked over to the window and the outside world, contemplating how things were going to go from here. With what she had experienced from Kisame, things didn't look like they were going to be too bad. If she just continued being nice to him and treating him well, she'd be able to figure out what it would take to remain human, and she'd have herself a place in the Akatsuki. Smirking as she noted the change from having been swimming around in the lake yesterday to being offered a place in the Akatsuki, Umi settled down in the bed and enjoyed the silence—only for it be cut off a moment later as the door opened again, Pein himself entering the room and nodding in greeting towards Umi. Doing so in return, trying to hold back a smile as Kisame's words ran through her mind once again, Umi said nothing as Pein began simply,

"I gather Kisame has explained everything, then, Umi? Good. And I'm glad to hear you'll be willing to stay with us when you're human. But; there still is the topic of how that is going to happen, as I know you won't stay this way forever, and you can only use your abilities while in your human body. So what exactly do you need to do?"

Glancing down, feeling his Rinnegan eyes remaining on her even though she looked away, Umi thought over how to word things, before finally just stating bluntly in return,

"Well...I don't actually know. There was never any scroll, or story or _rumour_ about what I would have to do to remain human, and apart from my visions, there haven't been any clues. But that doesn't mean I won't be able to figure out, Leader-sama. The longer I stay human, the more I will understand about what is around me, and will most likely be able to figure out what I need to do to become human; there's scrolls and stuff about my legend in the village, so I can look through those, too."

Nodding in acceptance of that fact, Pein remained silent for a moment afterwards as he processed that information, considering what to do. It was good to see Umi was so willing to do what she could to help, and it was much easier that she had agreed with this all willingly so quickly—one of his main concerns had been that she would continue struggling and they would have to spend half their time convincing her to stay. But with that out of the way, it meant they could focus on the task of getting her to remain human—they couldn't exactly have a mermaid as a member of the Akatsuki; and although it didn't seem like an easy job, Umi would work hard; Pein could tell. He'd get whoever he could to help out in providing the answer; but he couldn't help but be slightly concerned.

There were still those other guys out there—guys who had had the Henka stone, and therefore understood and knew about the legends surrounding Umi. Though she had broken free and run away from them, and the others had dealt with them coming after them for now, they still remained out there, and Pein got the feeling they weren't about to just give up like that when _they_ had been the ones to turn her into a human. Umi might have incredible power, but she was still unsure, and with her lack of knowledge of certain things, it might be harder for her to escape—she needed protection for the time being; and somebody to help her out with things in general. And Pein had just the person in mind...

"That's fine, then; once you've got used to being on land, you can start to figure out what you need. But there are still people after you, Umi, and there are things you need to learn...so I think it's best if you have...a guide, of sorts," He finally answered, causing Umi to look up and respond, shrugging,

"Of course, Leader-sama."

But neither Umi nor Kisame had been expecting Pein to simply turn around and face Kisame, stating bluntly and straight to the point,

"Then Kisame; considering you two have gotten acquainted with each other, it's easiest if that job is handed to _you_."

For a moment both of them were silent, blinking in surprise at this new knowledge; before Kisame finally turned back to Umi with a grin, nodding and agreeing firmly. He had no problems with it, and as she looked over at him, she merely did the same, not bothered in the slightest at having Kisame be her 'guide'.

Though no matter how hard she tried to focus on keeping him close to figure this out...

Umi couldn't disguise the surge of happiness that flared up in the pit of her stomach upon finding it out.


	10. Chapter 10

Pein said nothing more after that, merely saying that Umi would no doubt be better soon, before turning and leaving the room, leaving Umi and Kisame alone.

For a moment there was silence, though it wasn't awkward, as Kisame contemplated what to do—or say—now. Strangely he felt there was a lot of pressure on him all of a sudden. Protecting Umi was fine; he'd had to do the same on a lot of other missions when he'd been working for Kirigakure. But as for explaining and teaching her everything; making sure she got to know the world around her and generally that she was alright...it was a little different to what he'd experienced before. Not to mention with what people expected of him. Umi had said his name before she passed out, and after that moment in her room...all of the Akatsuki had seen that, asking questions and wanting to know what they had in common. They all expected him to suddenly know everything about her and automatically know just what to do—but it wasn't like that. Sure; he'd admit he felt that deep connection there, and yes, he got on with Umi; she seemed really sweet.

But he didn't _truly_ know her as a person; they weren't exactly best friends, having never met before now. The only reason she even knew him in the first place was because she'd seen him in a vision; not because they'd met in reality. What if Umi herself looked to him for answers, thinking he would know how to keep her human because she'd seen him in her dreams? Now taking care of her was his responsibility, and he had to live up to it—before he glanced over at Umi and realised just what he was thinking with a shake of his head. She wasn't a child—it wasn't like he was _babysitting_ her. She was just unfamiliar with this world, and trying to find her way. He'd treat her like anyone else, and as such he shook off his thoughts, turning to her with a smile to suggest simply,

"Well considering there's no point getting started today with you having only just woken up and everyone talking to you...how about an introduction to the rest of the Akatsuki here?"

The thoughts of all she would be doing from now on flashing back through her mind as Kisame spoke, Umi paused for a second before returning his smile and nodding vigorously, flinging off the covers to start standing up once more.

Only this time she made sure to be more careful.

Kisame came over to help her just like before, propping her up as she reached the door and left the room. But as they came up to the lounge, however, they both automatically shifted slightly. Umi didn't want to seem useless, like she couldn't even _walk_ anywhere on her own; and Kisame knew how they would look at him if he went into the room with his arm wrapped around her. Yes, he got on with Umi; but he didn't want them to start saying stuff like _that_. It would just make it worse for both of them. So they altered their positions until Kisame was merely stabilising Umi a little, helping her through the doorway and over to the nearest table so she could lean against it for support. It was only as she turned round that she realised the room was in silence, and glancing at Kisame, she whispered,

"Why are they all looking at me like that?"

Grinning at her question, but rolling his eyes at how the Akatsuki were all reacting, he took over for a moment to state to the room bluntly,

"Ok; this is Umi—though you _do_ already _know_ who she is. But she doesn't know any of you, so considering she's going to be staying here...go introduce yourselves."

With that, Kisame stepped slightly to the side, allowing everyone to come closer and say hi; which, after a moment's pause, they did. Itachi approached first, but didn't really introduce himself, merely asking how Umi was doing and about how she had agreed to join them, before he nodded in goodbye and passed on. Deidara was standing behind him, and continued glaring at Itachi's back to begin with, before shaking it off as Umi laughed at his response, coming over to introduce himself as Deidara. Kisame had told her that he was about nineteen, but as she looked him over he could easily pass for younger; he had that wide-eyed innocent look—though after what Kisame had said, it was clear that wasn't the case in the slightest. Smiling in return to his introduction, Umi then began to answer the quick-fire questions he blurted out a second later, wondering what it was like to be a mermaid and how she knew Kisame. Though she answered them as best she could, however, Deidara didn't get a chance to ask much more, as he was roughly pushed out the way as someone else came up to her, grumbling as he did so,

"Why don't you just fuck off already, Deidara-chan? We're all trying to get introduced here, so stop wasting our fucking time!"

Instantly Umi looked down to smother a laugh and a grin as she realised who it was: Hidan. All that ran through her head was Kisame's description—something that happened several times as the rest of the Akatsuki came and spoke to her. Though a lot of what Kisame had said was true—in a way—Umi couldn't help but think they weren't that bad, and if she was going to be staying in the organization with them, it wouldn't be overly difficult to get along with them. So as she finally sat down, still moving her legs to help her get used to the whole idea of walking, she got into conversation with them all—finally answering the questions they all wanted to ask. Once again, Umi mentioned the basics, still needing to truly figure it all out in her own head before she started putting it all into practice. Instead she just enjoyed the way things were for the moment, knowing she could get going tomorrow and adapt to the world around her.

Glancing up as Kisame came over, asking if she wanted anything to eat, Umi nodded, telling him he could give her whatever he had to offer with a grin as she realised. Now she was human, she could have so much more variety—and would have so much more time to sample it. Sure, there might be stuff she didn't like, but she was willing to try everything now she was up on shore. Chuckling quietly to herself, Umi shook her head, abruptly noticing how her excitement built every time she came into contact with the littlest thing to do with this world. But she couldn't help it; though her dream had started out utterly the opposite to the way she had always wanted it, things were finally changing. Now she could see herself truly finding a life here, and as such her excitement came back with a vengeance, and it didn't seem to be fading any time soon—even _if_ her situation was still a little strange.

When it came down to it after all, she _was_ in a hideout of a group of some of the most powerful ninjas in the world—all of them missing-nins; joining their group after simply running into one of them—literally—only for them to offer her a position. But somehow, it didn't matter. Although Umi could imagine some people out there would be condescending towards her choice of joining with a group of missing-nins, there was only so much she could do. The politics and squabbles of the world on land had been lost to Umi as she had grown up, only vaguely hearing of the war that had gone on, and even then hearing about it once a year—most of the information having come from scrolls she had read after it had occurred. She didn't know anything about this place, and therefore the idea that they had all defected from their ninja villages—gone against what the rest stood for—it wasn't as big a shock to Umi as it might be to everyone else. To her...they were merely people, and having offered her a job and a place to stay, she was willing to accept it. There was more to know, of course; something that was evident as Kisame brought out her food and placed it in front of her, prompting her to poke it with a chopstick and question as to what it was—but Umi was willing to learn about it all.

Laughing, Kisame obliged and revealed it was bakudan—considering Deidara had just made a load of it and there was still some left. He joined Umi at the table with his own food, talking and explaining several other dishes as he did so; pointing out she'd most likely come into contact with them another time. With that they merely talked, the others coming over to include themselves in the conversation as they found out more about Umi. But there were still several times when Umi found herself glancing up at Kisame, surprised at his actions. He had stood by her side when the Akatsuki had introduced themselves, supporting her mentally and encouraging her to continue. When everyone started talking to her, continuing on into the night; Kisame was the one to stand and tell them to stop; that Umi needed to sleep, before helping her up and leading her back to her room for the night. Thanking him as she settled down underneath the covers, she looked over at him one last time as he left the room, smiling as she realised: there was so much more she had to learn about this world...

But Kisame was going to be the one to tell it to her.

And somehow...that made it better.


	11. Chapter 11

Kisame couldn't stop a smile flaring up on his face as he got ready the next morning.

He'd thought this mission was going to be boring and tedious—but now he was looking forward to it.

Grabbing his cloak, he left his room and headed off down the corridor at a leisurely pace, only halting as he came up to Umi's door. A lot had been happening to her body lately; the change from mermaid to human; running away from the hideout when she had woken up...even going through the Sharingan put a strain on your mind. There had been the moments where she'd been unconscious to recover, and then sleeping last night, but Kisame couldn't help but wonder if he should give her a little more time; wait an hour or so longer before he went to wake her up and start her day. Contemplating it as his hand hovered over the door, Kisame eventually decided to check up on her first. If she seemed in a completely deep sleep, then he'd leave her a little longer—and if not, well, he'd get started for the day.

Opening the door silently, he slipped in through the gap in the door and closed it as quietly as possible, turning round to the bed to see how Umi was doing—only to find she wasn't there. Blinking in surprise, Kisame scanned the room quickly, frowning in confusion as he merely saw a foot sticking out at the front of the bed. Walking over, he peered round to see Umi at the foot of the bed, doing the full splits. Unable to stop a grin from appearing on his face, he cleared his throat softly, causing Umi to look up and smile as she saw him there. She'd woken up relatively early—whether through excitement or because her body had just recovered, she didn't know. But then the excitement had kicked in, and she felt she couldn't just sit there and wait for Kisame to turn up—but she didn't want to barge into his room and shake him awake either; especially as she couldn't even walk properly. But that had given her an idea, and as such she had spent her time exercising her legs to get used to them, stating triumphantly as she looked over at Kisame,

"Hey, Kisa! Cool, huh? I didn't know people could this!"

Laughing out loud at her awe at the idea of people being able to do the splits, Kisame pointed out it must just be an advantage of having legs; only for her to jump up and start doing various flips across the room, Kisame merely standing and watching in amazement, smiling all over again as she came to a halt in front of him, breathing in amazement,

"Having legs is so awesome!"

"For a lot of people, they'd say having a _tail_ is awesome—but you only think of the advantages when you want something," Kisame simply shot back, crossing his arms, to which Umi nodded in agreement—before questioning brightly,

"So; are we gonna get started, Kisame no danna?"

And with a grin and a nod, Kisame replied simply,

"We are."

First, naturally, he took Umi to get some breakfast, having another conversation about food when they did so. The others greeted them casually as they got up themselves, but soon, as both Umi and Kisame finished their meals, they passed on, Kisame deciding to take her for a walk while he spoke. He taught her the basics first; the main things that she would _definitely_ need to know now that she was on land. He showed her a map of the world and the names of all the ninja villages, giving a short history of the times and who led each village. From there he went on to where they were now; helping Umi finally gather a sense of direction. Suddenly it all unravelled in her head, being able to understand just where she was in the world and where she would need to go to get to the village or the lake. Finally she was starting to understand, and so prompted Kisame to continue. He went over tactics; formations and strategies for fighting that Umi might need to use at some point, and the kinds of weapons that were available to fight with.

Though Umi knew how to use her abilities, having had them innately programmed into her, she still didn't know all there was to know about the ninja arts; and so Kisame set up a makeshift training area, giving her some targets to practice throwing kunai and shuriken at. It wasn't a surprise to see her excel so quickly at it, however—considering she knew how to manipulate all the elements and give herself heightened speed, strength and endurance, using shuriken and kunai would be no problem. But it wasn't that that caught Kisame's eye; it was the way she was so amazed that she could do it; at the general weapons and the way they worked in the first place. Every time she tried something new a smile flashed up on her face, and Kisame couldn't help but return it every single time. But as she had finished, Kisame stating he was sure she'd mastered it by now, Umi came back over to him, noticing something she hadn't taken much notice of before; and unsure how Kisame would react, Umi began casually,

"But what about that? You carry it around on your back all the time; is _that_ a weapon?"

Blinking in surprise at how he had forgotten Samehada, Kisame quickly unsheathed it and held it out for her to see. Telling her she could touch it when she hesitated, Umi ran her hands over it, silent in awe as she realised it could absorb chakra, and almost had a mind of its own. It was amazing, and Kisame clearly valued it. So they fell into conversation about it, talking about the kind of fights he'd been in and the kind of things she might need to think about if she got into battle. But sooner or later it was forgotten; their conversations becoming just general; finding out more about each other and chatting casually. As they got something to eat for lunch and went back to talk some more it was only half-hearted, Kisame telling Umi things that weren't exactly necessary, but that she wanted to know about—until eventually they headed back to the hideout, done for the day. Umi went back to her a room for a break before getting something to eat a little later, thanking Kisame profusely as he said goodbye for the moment, before turning to her room and closing the door.

Sighing as she thought about what a great day she'd been having, Umi jumped up onto the bed and lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Kisame had been so nice to her; he'd complimented her on how well she had learnt to use her legs in such a short space of time, and how quickly she'd learnt to use the shuriken and kunai. Never once had he acted like it was a chore to be teaching her all that stuff; he had made it fun for the both of them. He'd allowed her to look at and touch Samehada when it was clear it was his most prized possession, and then when they'd just been talking...he'd found it easy to make her laugh. Talking with him just wasn't hard, and even though she'd merely crawled out of a lake and he'd had no choice but to keep an eye on her, he never made her feel awkward—she felt she could just relax in his company and be herself. If it was how things were going to be when she fully joined them, then she'd be happy for the rest of her life.

If only she just knew what would keep her human.

But suddenly something occurred to Umi, and she froze in her thoughts, have never truly considered it before. She knew it was to do with Kisame; and therefore she'd always stated she was going to be really nice to him; to keep him close so she could figure things out. So she'd purposefully been nice to him, regardless of what he'd said. But today hadn't been like that. Umi had forgotten completely about her plans as she went about with Kisame—as he taught her all that stuff. All that was in her mind was hanging out with him and talking—though to be honest, it seemed to be having the same effect. Umi was beginning to realise that there was no point being purposefully nice to him to keep him close—because it would only work out the same way. Kisame was so genuinely nice and sweet to her, that by acting naturally and normally in response, they became friends without even trying to do so.

Kisame knew the feeling.

It had been when he'd come into his room, throwing his cloak to the side for the minute and sitting down on his bed as he considered what to make Umi for dinner; what she would like. The rational side to his brain had then woken up, making him realise just what that seemed like from the outside world—a lot of guys didn't even do that for their girlfriends; and yet he was doing it for Umi. True, he could sit there and blame it on the job Pein had assigned him; that he had to keep an eye on Umi and help her adapt to the world...but it felt more natural than that. He didn't need to receive any hints as to how to treat her or what to do. Getting on with her was automatic; she was just so sweet and friendly.

Suddenly keeping Umi human seemed a lot more personal than it had before.


	12. Chapter 12

The next couple of days went on much the same.

The basic things that Umi needed to know more than the rest were ones she memorised off by heart; when Kisame had asked her about their location the next day as a way to test her, she recited all he had said off by heart—ultimately leaving him speechless. Maybe it was because she had lived in a lake all her life and had never really experienced the world on shore...but he had imagined it would take longer than this. That it would be so strange and overwhelming for her to take it all in that it would take days before she would be properly be able to function. It was only now, however, that Kisame could see that that was not the case—merely the opposite. He should have realised when he came into Umi's room and found she had adapted herself to walking already, but it didn't matter; he wasn't about to underestimate her again. She didn't deserve it after all she had been through as it was; after all she had missed out on.

At first Kisame hadn't been able to understand just why Umi adapted and developed in this world so easily; but as he noted the expression on her face as he was talking at one time, he finally realised why. She was staring at him intently; the rest of the world blocked out as she focused on Kisame entirely and what he was saying. Often Umi would ask questions about so many things herself, eliminating the need for Kisame to explain them all to her when they had one of their 'sessions' later in the day. Her enthusiasm for this world was what allowed her to adapt so well; she wanted to be a part of it so much; to understand it more than anything, that she memorised everything that was said to her in order to learn more. Umi was so eager to become part of the world that she often got ahead of Kisame—but it never mattered to him. He could only smile every time he saw a bit of it, the excitement she revealed almost childlike, but with an adult intensity to it. It was a combination Kisame admired, and found himself becoming endeared to as time went by. That deep connection had surfaced when he first met her was starting to resurface...but it felt stronger than before.

Something Umi agreed with completely.

After all; she had known there would be that innate feeling of an understanding between them both from the beginning. She'd had visions about him; she knew that in order to stay human it had something to do with him...obviously they were going to be connected. But as they became friends it strengthened this bond; so that when she thought about it—felt for it—it was more potent and prominent in her mind than it had been before. Like it was more than just an inner thing; it was psychological and almost physical as well. Kisame's task of teaching her about the world became less of a job and more about having fun; Kisame laughing as she tried every food he put in front of her without hesitation; only to find out she didn't like it and try to stop herself from just spitting it all out again; both of them running around the forest, chasing each other or playing games as he told her about the kind of things people did for fun. Umi integrated with the rest of the Akatsuki easily; but everyone found it hard to understand the idea that they hadn't known each other before. Their relationship seemed too strong for them to have merely been strangers only a few days before. But it was only when Pein questioned as to whether he had found out anything more about what would keep Umi human that Kisame abruptly realised something else—something that affected him all day, even as they both ambled through the forest that evening, taking a casual walk wherever they wanted, enjoying the companionable silence between them as they did so.

Then Kisame suddenly stopped, and looking up, Umi finally saw where they were.

Without even noticing it both of them had walked back to the lake; to Umi's former home and living space. It seemed strange to look at it now; even though it felt small to her while she was living in it, it looked even smaller now. She couldn't help but run her mind over all the memories of her life in the lake...and all the ones she had formed over the last couple of days, at last fully realising just how big a change had occurred. Everything was so different now. She had learnt and seen so much...come to understand so much more...though she wasn't exactly sad as she gazed across the water, no expression appeared on her face, merely allowing the thoughts and feelings to rush through her body. What could she say? There didn't seem to be words to explain what was going on in her mind as she stood there; so much had happened.

Kisame said nothing to begin with; simply watching Umi as she glanced up and noticed the lake. He couldn't tell what she was feeling or thinking; there was no smile to suggest she was fine with seeing it and happy to turn back with him, but there was no frown or tears to suggest she was upset. Clearly something was different, however, as so much of her normal self dissipated into the background. That glint that was always in her eyes wasn't evident anymore, and Kisame's recollection of what Pein had said...of what he had thought when he'd said it...they came back, and he couldn't let it go. Umi had lived in the lake all her life, and clearly made herself a home there. Those guys—though Kisame didn't know exactly who they were—had dragged Umi out of the lake forcefully, and forcefully _made_ her change into a human without a word as to how she felt about it. Even with the Akatsuki they had automatically pointed out she was staying with them and that they would find out what would make her remain human to complete the transition. Kisame had accepted it; he didn't know her well, and it was his job. But now they were friends...he cared about Umi. Now things were different, and as such he began softly,

"Do you want to do this, Umi?"

Snapping her gaze round to look at him, finally breaking the trance she had been in, she frowned and questioned as to what he meant, Kisame continuing on quickly afterwards,

"If you want to go back...I'll let you; I won't try and hold you back. I can say they took you—you know, if you don't want to be human."

At first Umi froze, abruptly feeling hurt. Was Kisame trying to say he wanted her to go back to the lake? That he didn't want to be doing all this—hanging out with her—anymore? But then his first question popped up in her head, and Umi knew it wasn't like that at all, and she melted. Umi knew and understood that from the beginning she hadn't been given much choice; even when she was little and placed in the lake to begin with. No one had asked her if she wanted to be a mermaid; no one had asked her if she wanted to become human, or to stay with the Akatsuki and _remain_ human. Not once had someone stopped and said, 'you have two choices in front of you—but it is your decision to pick the one you want'. But Kisame had sensed it too; and he was offering Umi the chance to make her own decision. He was giving her a choice in life when so far she hadn't had many. Suddenly she stared at Kisame in a whole new light; he was being so sweet to her. Finally the smile came back to her face as she eventually replied gently,

"No; I've always wanted to be human, Kisa. It was what I'd wished for...for as long as I can remember. Yes, when those guys grabbed me and forced me to change, my opinion altered slightly; I was unsure if people wouldn't care about who I was as a person, but simply as my power. But now I realise that I _do_ want to be a human, regardless. You've been good to me—and it gives me somewhere to go when I _am_ fully human, you know? I dreamt of this world and always wanted to know everything about it...so I'm not about to give it up when I have the opportunity in front of me."

"You won't have to; don't worry. All we have to do is figure out what will make you stay like this, and then you can stay with me," Kisame shot back with a grin, only for it occur to him what he said and quickly correct himself,

"Uh; _us_—I meant _us_. You know, the Akatsuki."

Giggling at his reaction, Umi looked away, blushing a bit with his words, but not about to stop him. It wasn't exactly something she had ever experienced or understood, considering she hadn't been in contact with humans that much...but it was instinctive. It felt good to know Kisame was saying it; and happiness filled Umi, butterflies flitting around her stomach at the idea that things would continue this way as she remained human—until abruptly it occurred to her, and the smile slipped away.

If she didn't figure things out—she wouldn't remain human.

She'd never be able to become one again.

And then she'd lose Kisame forever.


	13. Chapter 13

Umi couldn't remember the exact time she had woken up, but it had been before the sun rose.

Since then she had gotten ready for the day, pacing back and forth across her room as she tried to figure things out.

Talking with Kisame by the lake had made her realise so much. She couldn't just sit around hanging out with him and chatting like she'd been doing over the past few days; there was only a certain amount of time she had before she'd turn back into a mermaid, and she was no closer to finding out what it was that would allow her to remain human. Umi had told the truth back there; she wanted to become human more than anything; but without the 'key'—of sorts—then that dream would be nothing anymore. She'd been so stupid, allowing herself to get caught up in the joy of finally being on shore for more than a day and finally understanding the world she had longed to be a part of—allowing herself to get caught up in _feeling_ things she had never truly comprehended in the lake, but wanted more than ever now she had experienced them. What Umi knew for certain was that she couldn't continue on the way she had; she had to start thinking of the future. Once she knew what the key was, then she'd be fully human, she could adapt fully to her abilities and could remain in the Akatsuki doing missions. When she thought about it like that, it seemed simple.

If she knew what the key was.

Only things weren't like that. Umi hadn't the slightest clue about anything to do with it. Sure, her visions had told her about the Akatsuki and Kisame...but even hanging around with him she hadn't discovered the true purpose of those visions. They hadn't exactly been solid clues. There were no scrolls or notes that revealed what it was; even her parents had left her nothing to help her out; she was expected to come up with the answer without any hints at all as to what it might be. But considering the infinite amount of possibilities, the probability of finding it was pretty low—let alone finding it in the amount of time she had left. The moment she thought it the same reaction happened; her heart felt like it was being squeezed and her throat closed up. How would things turn out if she didn't find it? After all, she had to consider the possibility—she couldn't avoid the idea completely. If she didn't find it, she would become a mermaid once more; she'd never be a human again and her life would become as it once was...only she'd be craving the human world more than she had ever done while living there before.

Things would only get worse from there. The Akatsuki knew that Umi could only use her power while she was a human; it was why they had been searching for the Henka stone so fiercely. But once they figured out that the same thing couldn't happen again—that this was a one-time opportunity—they'd start to break all connections. They had goals to pursue, after all; goals that required them to travel all over looking for things and accepting jobs from anyone and everyone. Umi knew deep down in her heart that they couldn't wait for her forever. They couldn't just stay close in order to visit and keep an eye on her. The reason the Akatsuki had come to this area was to find her and recruit her for her power. If she was a mermaid, Umi was without that power; and therefore at the end of all of this she would be of no use to them. She'd have to sit and watch in the lake as they packed up their stuff and left the village—as they left her behind. Even Kisame wouldn't be able to do a thing; he hadn't known her that long, when it came down to it, and his main priority was with the Akatsuki. A life of sitting by a lake and talking to a mermaid for the rest of his life, not being able to go anywhere or do anything he wanted wasn't a life Umi _wanted_ him to have, either. He deserved better—even if she did care about him.

Sighing, Umi stopped in her pacing, glancing up to see the sun rising and freezing once more at the idea that sooner or later Kisame would be coming to knock on her door and tell her what was happening; whether she wanted something to eat. They'd talk about what they were going to do today and then head out to carry it all out. But with all that was rushing through her head, things wouldn't be the same. All she'd be thinking about was what could happen—what would most likely happen—and Umi couldn't spend all that time with Kisame knowing he was just going to disappear from her life at the end of it. It was only going to crush her completely when it happened.

Then suddenly it occurred to her.

Umi had to do it first; she had to cut off the ties she was beginning to make _now_.

It would make things easier overall; if Umi continued getting close to Kisame like she was, and chatting with all the Akatsuki and getting integrated like she was, her feelings would only grow and grow. Then when the time came that she would return to the water and they would leave, she'd fall into a state of depression and never want to see the sun again, having lost all she cared about. She'd never truly known her parents, and was never around enough to get to know the villagers—the Akatsuki were the only people she'd been around enough to get to know. They were the only bonds she had ever formed with humans, and to witness them being destroyed would only do the same to her. But if she stopped things now; if she avoided getting any closer to them it would mean she wouldn't care as much when the time came. Sure, she'd be sad, but Umi knew that there might be a chance those emotions wouldn't overwhelm her entirely. It had to be done.

So the rest of her time alone Umi spent preparing for what was to come. There was nothing she could do about it now, so she resigned herself and planned what she was going to do to stop those bonds from forming. Everything was ready, and she tapped her feet nervously on the floor as she sat and waited for Kisame to finally arrive in her room. There might have been times where she didn't feel ready to do this; that she couldn't push him away like that. But she'd force herself to remember what would only happen if she didn't go through with this, and the plan would come back to her. It still didn't mean Umi was happy as a knock finally sounded on her door; she swallowed hard, biting her lip nervously as she got up and walked over. But taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly, clearing her face of emotion as she opened the door to be greeted warmly by Kisame,

"Morning, Umi! There was kind of an accident in the kitchen between Hidan and Kakuzu—which isn't exactly surprising—but a load of stuff got broken and messed around, so breakfast might be a little slapdash. But then—"

"Don't worry; I don't mind. I'll find something to eat, anyway," Umi quickly shot back before Kisame could say anymore, giving a small smile before dodging past him and heading down the corridor to the kitchen. Kisame hesitated as she did so, instinctively feeling that something was wrong here and that Umi wasn't quite her normal self, but tried to shake it off. There were a lot of things she had to think about, after all—maybe it was just that that was getting to her.

Kisame tried to constantly remind himself that as he followed her into the kitchen; watching as she merely nodded in greeting to those who were there and grabbed what food was left, sitting down at the table and eating it silently. It was nothing like she usually was; though she wasn't hyper, Umi always got into conversation, enthusiastic about the day ahead and what would be going on, talking to the others to see what they would be doing, too. But today she focused merely on her food, barely even looking up as she did so, even when Kisame got his own food and sat down next to her. There came a point where Kisame felt like he had to ask what was wrong as he tried to talk and she brushed him off dismissively; but then he remembered how they had been talking last night; that it had been when they were alone together that they'd spoken about deeper things—and he decided to wait until later. Maybe when they were alone he'd be able to ask Umi if there was something wrong—it was probably just a bad dream or something.

"So, Umi; what do you wanna do today? We could—" Kisame eventually began casually, turning to Umi with a smile, only for him to be cut off once again as she shot back bluntly,

"Training. There's still things I have to learn, after all, and I don't know when those guys might show up...so yeah. Training."

With that, she stood up and placed her stuff in the sink, cleaning herself off before turning back to Kisame, and without any trace of emotion on her face as she stood there, she stated simply,

"You're still eating; I'll go to the place where we always go and you can meet me there, alright?" Before she turned and left the room without a word of goodbye or even a smile in his direction, Kisame's food left untouched as he stared after her.

He was beginning to think this was a lot more serious than he'd thought...


	14. Chapter 14

Kisame had always been independent.

Whether it had been learning stuff as he grew up, rising up the ranks as a ninja as he did missions or acting on his own after he left Kirigakure and joined the Akatsuki, Kisame had done it on his own. He was fine with dealing with his own problems and didn't have to be dependent on anyone else in order to do something. He might follow Itachi's orders and accept his opinion without question, but he understood Itachi was stronger than him; when it came down to his life and the decisions he made to do with it, he didn't need anyone there for him. After an entire lifetime of solving his own problems, things weren't about to change. It's not like he'd been turning to any of the Akatsuki for advice or anything, anyway—they weren't exactly the 'agony aunt' type. He didn't need them, anyway; he was fine with being by himself.

But suddenly he felt more isolated than he'd done in a long time.

There were always going to be things that kept him distanced from most people, and Kisame had acknowledged that; he knew it was true, and therefore it no longer bothered him. But as he watched Umi walk out, not bothering to wait for him and talk in the meantime...a feeling of loneliness washed over him, and he couldn't get rid of it. He tried convincing himself otherwise; telling himself that he wasn't lonely; he worked with Itachi on missions constantly, he was in a group of eight other people and was living with the majority of them right now. Umi might have gone off to do some training, but she hadn't left him—he hadn't been abandoned in anyway, and it wasn't as if he wouldn't be able to deal with it if he _was_. And yet still that feeling of being alone stuck with him as he finished his food and headed outside to catch up with Umi. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be. Maybe she was just worried and had needed some time alone—though he knew those thoughts were useless as he finally arrived at the clearing.

She was training, like she'd said she would be, going from technique to technique and honing not only the basics she had never known before this, but her overall power in general. Her eyes flicked to Kisame as he appeared through the trees, but she soon returned to the training, not saying a word in greeting. Kisame allowed her to remain like that; letting her be in her own thoughts for a while as he attempted to untangle his own. There was only one point that Kisame spoke up, pointing out that she should use targets for this part of her ability; it included chakra control, and by having a target, she could see just how much control she had over it and develop it even more. Giving a small smile as he suggested it, Kisame turned to look at Umi; and it instantly fell off. She merely nodded in acceptance, her face void of emotion, her voice toneless as she thanked him and delved straight back into her training. Kisame knew right then and there he wasn't about to get anything out of there, and walked to the side of the clearing to sit against a tree and take care of Samehada, gathering she didn't want him there. Umi could only glance over and force the guilt she felt down; it would make things easier in the end—even if it was hurting him now, her eyes passing over his melancholy expression.

If only he knew...

Eventually even Umi had to admit she was too tired to do anymore training, and finally came to a halt in the middle of the clearing, Kisame finally looking up from his stupor. He blinked in surprise as Umi walked over to him, a flame of hope igniting within him at the idea that she was okay with him again; that she'd start talking and they could hang out just like they had before, only becoming stronger as she spoke about what she wanted to learn. Though it all came to nothing a moment later. Umi simply stated she was done with training, and that she'd been wondering about the ninja villages. The kinds of rules they had; the defences around them and the histories they carried with them. It wasn't necessarily all the ninjas she wanted to know about; just the general history. A lot of things had happened in the world, and she wanted to know about them—and as she said that's what she wanted to learn about, Umi took a seat in front of him and waited for him to speak. No other words came from her mouth as she did so, simply expecting him to talk.

For a moment Kisame felt like saying no; just standing up, grabbing Samehada and walking off. That she'd been stand-offish with him all day, pushing past him when he came to her room and brushing him off at breakfast. Just ignoring him and leaving the hideout on her own, stating what she was going to be doing and expecting him to turn up and watch her without wondering whether he'd like for Umi to wait for him to join her. Just blanking him entirely as she went on training, barely even grateful when he suggested something to help her—then coming over like she had, Umi was sitting there expecting him to begin talking about what _she_ wanted. About what _she_ wanted to learn, and assumed that he would stand up right away and talk about it, when she wasn't about to do anything in return. Kisame felt like doing all of that, his feelings building up in a ball inside of him—but when he looked back at Umi, he couldn't do it. He knew how much she'd been through, and that he had agreed to help her learn about the world. It was his feelings affecting all of this, and not hers; so he couldn't let it get in the way. As such, he nodded slowly, standing and beginning to speak; his voice softer and not as enthusiastic as it was normally.

The rest of the day passed in much the same way.

He was basically giving a speech; talking _at_ Umi instead of _with_ her—but she seemed to want it that way, never looking as if she was bored with what he was talking about. There's was no chatting as he went on, however; she asked no questions like she had always done with whatever topic he had talked about before, instead accepting his words and letting him continue in one big lecture. Eventually Kisame thought to stop, realising it was lunch time, and hesitating as he glanced over at Umi, he finally mustered the courage to ask her if she wanted to get something to eat considering the time. But just like always, it didn't work; Umi merely shrugged, stating she 'wasn't that hungry', stating she was fine with him getting something to eat while she grabbed a snack and disappeared off again to do some more training.

By this point, Kisame was wondering whether to follow—it seemed like she didn't want him there, after all; with her abilities it was going to be hard to defeat her, and if there was nothing he could do, was there any point in staying? That way he might be able to do something with his day that would be more fun than how it was at the moment—or at least more productive. He simply sat and ate his food, barely feeling like eating but forcing himself to anyway. No one could get through to him as he did so; he was too far into his thoughts. But what was he supposed to do? Everything he tried Umi simply pushed him away and acted like it was nothing. Every time Kisame made the effort, it didn't seem to make an ounce of difference. But he couldn't understand. Yesterday she had been fine; they had spent all day talking and hanging out with each other; they'd had that conversation by the lake, and if anything, he'd felt closer to her at that moment than he'd ever done before. Only now Umi was the opposite; isolated and distanced from everything around her—even Itachi wasn't _that_ bad.

Had he done something wrong? Had he said something at some point; or had someone tried to make it seem like he'd said something, and Umi had believed them? Was there something she had found out that had changed everything dramatically, and _that's_ why she was getting so apathetic towards the whole situation? Or did she not even like him? Had Umi just been placating him all along, being friendly and hanging out with him like she had because, as she was staying in the Akatsuki, as she had had visions of him in the first place, she felt obliged to? The idea wasn't one Kisame liked to entertain in his head, but it kept on coming back. He'd said from the start he felt a deep connection between the two of them, yes; and that it had gotten stronger the more they hung out.

But what if it was only a one way thing?

What if the connection was fading for Umi, now that she was truly becoming human? That if she fully dropped her heritage and where she had lived...then she wouldn't feel that connection at all anymore? It wouldn't be the same with him; it was stronger than ever—there was no way he'd be able to lose this connection. Though...would it be better if it _did_ fade? At least then he wouldn't have to feel like this.

At least then it wouldn't be such a blow when Umi spoke to him the next morning.

Because now he wouldn't even be able to _try_ and get her to talk to him.


	15. Chapter 15

He tried to remain upbeat, dismissing Umi's attitude yesterday to a nightmare, something someone had said to her, a bad day in general—being on her period, even—anything that would brush off the idea of her simply pushing Kisame aside. He took a moment to pace and think about how he would greet her; should he act any different? Push straight in and ask if there was anything wrong, and that she could talk to him about it if there was? Or would it be better to ignore it and continue on as normal; bringing up something that Umi didn't want to think about wasn't something Kisame wanted to do. If it meant that all of it would get brushed under the carpet, he was all for it; he didn't want to bring it up anymore than she did.

Sighing, he sat down on the bed, placing his head in his hands. Would any of this be easy?

But Kisame forced himself to shake it off and get up. He'd figure out how to react when he saw Umi's reaction to him there. If she was happy and back to her normal self, then he would do the same—if not, then he'd try and figure out what was wrong and ask about it. For the moment, however, he concentrated on getting there, walking out the room and heading straight for her door. Umi herself wasn't particularly looking forward to the beginning of this day and with what she knew she was going to be saying to Kisame. It wasn't as if she _liked_ doing this to him, but she had no choice! All she could do was plough on with her plan, and so took a deep breath as she heard the knock. Blanking her face just like yesterday morning, Umi walked casually over to the door and opened it, glancing up from looking at her clothes and blinking in surprise to see Kisame there, as if she hadn't been expecting him to be there. Allowing him to greet her, hiding a wince as he grinned sweetly at her and forcing herself to remain passive, she eventually knew she would have to speak up as he questioned as to what she wanted to do today, and swallowing hard, she finally managed to look up at his face—though not in his eyes—to state nonchalantly,

"Oh, no; I'm gonna be hanging out with Hidan today, Kisame—sorry."

Kisame instantly froze, staring at Umi in utter shock and not knowing what the hell to say in return. After all, it was _his_ job to look after her while all this was going on, and it was _his_ job to teach her about the world and everything that Umi needed to know. It wasn't Hidan's task; and there had never been any signs that he wanted it, let alone that Umi herself had wanted to switch over and allow this to happen. Wondering how long Umi had known about this, and whether Pein had decided this was going to happen, Kisame blurted,

"What?"

As Umi looked back at him as calmly as anything to reply simply,

"Well...I'm gonna be staying in the Akatsuki, aren't I? And I'm gonna be doing missions with all of you and everything...so I figured it would be best if I hung out with _all_ of you and got to know their abilities—so that if I'm put on a mission with them I'll know what to do to complement their abilities. I'll most likely be doing it all day, too, so...I might not see you."

Still Kisame found it hard to take words and form sentences. He stared at her in utter bewilderment as to why all this was happening when only a couple of days ago they had both been hanging out together all the time; they'd been so close. Now Umi was standing there telling him this news as if it was a casual fact that meant nothing at all. She'd _organised_ it in the first place, and hadn't bothered telling him it until he came to her room in the morning and greeted her—making him look like a complete idiot in the meantime. He was the one who had gone to all this effort, and yet Umi made no attempt to thank him for it, or truly apologise for all that was going on. The one 'sorry' she had thrown at him had been half-hearted and in passing. Suddenly, instead of sadness at having all this occur, anger was the only thing that was running through Kisame's head, and as it did so, it finally allowed him to speak, his own expression changing to apathetic as he shot back,

"Okay; that's fine. It'll be easier to entertain myself this way, anyway," before turning and walking straight to the kitchen to get himself something to eat.

Umi watched him as he walked away, biting back tears at the idea he was now angry at her; but at least this way it meant he would stay away from her. He wouldn't try and be friendly and she'd have to try and ignore him, and overall that bond would be broken. It wouldn't have to hurt as much when she became a mermaid again—even as she dived back into her room, placing her back against the door and hand across her mouth in an attempt to stop the tears that were already flowing. She hated doing this to him; but there was no other way—though Umi couldn't help but wonder whether it was going to hurt any less either way.

Kisame was glad, however; it meant he could eat his breakfast in peace without having to see Umi there, eating silently and blanking him, treating him like he didn't exist. If she was going to be like that to him without a single word of warning or a reason for doing so, then he had every right to react in much the same way. He had no idea what he'd be doing that day, all of his plans having gone right out the window, but he didn't care. Kisame would find anything to do as long as it meant staying away from Umi. She had cut all ties with him, so it was time for him to let go and continue on with his life as normal—nodding triumphantly to himself as he finally finished his food, standing to place the stuff in his sink and head back out to his room. Only things didn't go quite as he wanted as he abruptly passed Umi in the doorway, his eyes merely grazing over her face as he continued on through the door and down the corridor. He forced himself to act like she had done, true, pushing on towards his room and sitting back down on his bed—it was here that the image of her face came back to his memory. Although her expression had been apathetic, a glint had still remained in her eyes. But not of happiness this time; merely of sadness.

Kisame's anger immediately began to dissipate as he remembered all he had been thinking only minutes ago, and sighing once more, he flopped back and fully laid on the bed, closing his eyes as he got lost in thought. True, Umi might have cut all ties with him...but he knew deep in his heart that he could never do the same to her. That connection that had surfaced when he had looked into her eyes at that moment—one that still brought a shiver to his spine when he recalled it in his memory—hadn't gone, only strengthening by the day. The friendship he had shared with Umi had merely cemented that connection, and as it had been almost innate to begin with, there was no way in hell Kisame could do a thing to get rid of it now. He could lay there and try and be angry; to try and react in the same way or sit in his room all day and cry...but the connection would remain.

But what would he do with it now?

Neither Kisame nor Umi's moods improved much that day. Though Umi allowed herself to react off of Hidan's comments and words, for the most part she tried to remain as distanced as possible. He didn't really care, as she listened to all he was saying about Jashinism and took it all in, never once complaining or saying that his religion was stupid. Umi merely accepted it, and therefore Hidan was alright with her being around, offering to let her watch one in the meantime. Umi had immediately agreed, feeling as if she had to get out of the hideout. Maybe it was the idea that Kisame could still be in the hideout and that he was angry at her, or maybe because she felt she just needed some fresh air, she didn't know—but she wanted to get out. Even the fact that she would be watching a sacrifice didn't bother her; after all, she had a lot of frustration inside of her—this sacrifice might just let her release some of that.

Kisame hadn't a clue how to do the same, however. He tried everything throughout the day; doing casual things like watching T.V and reading, going out for a walk and even training a little. But no matter what he did, nothing worked; he ended up thinking about Umi once again, and every time having no idea as to what to do about the situation. By the time it got to early evening, he was lying on his bed again, having been there for several hours. All he could concentrate on was his thoughts, and he simply let them drift through, telling Itachi he wasn't hungry when he knocked on the door to try and coax him out of his room for dinner. As he finally heard Itachi sigh, his footsteps softly padding away down the hallway, Kisame turned onto his side, staring blankly out the window; scared if he did anything else then the effects of Umi distancing herself from him would begin to show—that tears he hadn't seen since he was little would begin to appear once more.


	16. Chapter 16

They barely saw each other after that.

There were still seven other Akatsuki members there, and Umi had said she wanted to know about _all_ of their abilities. It took half of the next day before she finally felt she had learnt all she could about Hidan's abilities, and had taken the rest of the day to relax in her room—thinking about Kisame and what he was doing. Then the next day she had approached Deidara, and he had been absolutely fine with her sticking around and learning about his abilities. She had sat in his room and watched him make clay creations, helping out with some and listening to him talk and describe them. He allowed Umi to take her mind off other things and just concentrate on what was in front of her—he was too exuberant in his personality for her to try and daydream while she was sitting there. If she was going to be learning about Deidara's abilities...she was going to have to get involved with them. But he had so much to show her—so much to teach her—that it took ages before she approached Sasori.

And the same process happened again.

The process of making those puppets and doing everything right was incredible, and so she spent a day or so with Sasori learning about them. Kakuzu's was on the go; although he didn't mind telling Umi about his abilities, he wasn't about to waste time sitting down with her and talking her through Earth Grudge Fear. He was the treasurer, and therefore had other things to do. So she accompanied him on the bounties hunts he did—he was fine with her being there, as she never complained, simply listening intently to what he was saying and remaining quiet otherwise. When he asked her to help in battle, she did so—and otherwise stayed out of his way; so he told her what there was to his abilities. Only to find she liked coming with him on the bounty hunts. The journey felt good; she was doing something and staying active, and it allowed her time to think to herself—even if her thoughts mostly ended up on Kisame.

Pein had many levels to his abilities, too; not to mention he could tell Umi so much more about the Akatsuki than Kisame had been able to—being the leader, that wasn't exactly surprising, however. He told her about missions and the kind of things she could prepare herself for, inserting the description of the Rinnegan and the rest of his abilities in the gaps, and the rest merely followed in the same way. She was compliant, quiet and willing to listen. Sometimes the topic veered away from what they could do, but it didn't matter; Umi never took her attention away from them and was willing to talk about whatever they had to talk about.

At least that way she could avoid talking about herself.

Kisame and Umi had begun adapting their routines to avoid each other. In the likes of Sasori or Kakuzu she would get up early to go and talk to them, knowing they would be awake and active, and she wouldn't have to see Kisame in the meantime, while getting up later if it was for someone like Hidan and Deidara. Kisame made sure Umi wasn't there before he went to get his breakfast, knowing he would only stare and make things worse if she was around, and checked to see if Umi had eaten her dinner or not when it was later on in the day to know whether he could do the same. At lunch time they asked around as to whether either of them were in the hideout; if they were, they'd leave and head to the village in order to buy something—they never had to see or speak to each other. There were so many times Umi halted outside his door, however; Kisame heard her voice telling a story in the other room...and they wanted to join. She wanted to knock on his door and see how he was doing; it was clear it wasn't as well as the rest of the Akatsuki were—and she felt guilty. He wanted to hear the full story and talk with her about it afterwards; to ask questions and learn more about her.

But they both knew it couldn't happen.

So they merely sighed; walking on.

The days had passed so quickly, and Umi knew it was getting closer and closer to the time when she would turn back into a mermaid. A thought had passed as to whether she might see Kisame one last time; to at least say goodbye. She owed him _that_, at least. But she still had Akatsuki to talk to about their abilities; she had said she wanted to talk to them all, and if she stopped now, the others would start asking questions, and everything would go up in smoke. It didn't mean she was looking forward to it, however, even if she had left him until last. She knew his personality and she knew his full situation...if anyone was going to be observing her, it was _him._

Itachi Uchiha.

He _was_ Kisame's partner, after all. He knew Kisame had been hanging out with Umi; he'd seen them together. Not only that, but Itachi was a good friend of Kisame, unlike the rest of the partnerships in the Akatsuki—unfortunately for Umi. But because of this, Itachi was the one who looked out for him now they were friends. Itachi had been the one to go to Kisame to ask if he wanted something to eat if he wasn't around, or go check if he hadn't turned up somewhere he was supposed to be. It wasn't like Itachi wouldn't have noticed Kisame's behaviour changing; and he would no doubt have noticed _hers_, as well. Analysing people was easy for Itachi, and always had been; not to mention with the Sharingan this was only heightened. All in all, it felt like the moment Umi would enter his room and start spending time with him, he would have figured out her entire life, what she was feeling and thinking and how Kisame was reacting to it. She just had to hope that he would keep his distance; Itachi did so with everyone else in his life, so it wouldn't be a stretch for Umi. Though still she paused as she got to Itachi's room, planning how she would enter and greet him; especially with all that had happened this morning. But there was nothing she could do about it, and as such she ploughed on, knocking on the door and entering quietly with a forced smile to greet him.

But surprisingly enough, the day went along fine. Itachi was quiet and calm, and it allowed Umi to act in the same way as she sat and listened to Itachi telling her about the Sharingan. He left no detail out, explaining it carefully and thoroughly as he went along. Umi listened intently in return; it was interesting, and somehow, even with Itachi's connection to Kisame, being in his room allowed her to escape all that and feel apart from her feelings and thoughts. The sun made its way across the sky, both of them getting something to eat and continuing to talk and demonstrate afterwards. Umi couldn't help but glance up at the sky as the room began to get darker, happy at the idea that the day would be over soon and she would have gotten through it all without Itachi having mentioned it in the slightest. Finishing in the bathroom, Umi began to wash her hands, smirking slightly in relief while she was on her own.

"You knew Kisame's name and what he looked before meeting him, right, Umi?"

Itachi's soft voice called out from behind the door, and instantly Umi froze; just when she thought she was free of this conversation, and he caught her out straight away. She thought about not responding at all, just ignoring the comment and continuing on as normal as if she hadn't heard it. But this was Itachi here; there was no way he'd just let it go, and Umi knew she'd have to say something—so she called out a confirmation, wincing as he then abruptly appeared at the door, quickly continuing,

"That obviously caused a connection, and you must know that he has something to do with you remaining human, hmm?"

Turning round, Umi quickly began to dry her hands, shrugging at his words and saying over her shoulder, trying to calm her raging heartbeat,

"I've never really thought about it."

A moment later and he had spun her round, standing a few inches away from her and staring directly into her eyes, allowing Umi no room to turn away and get away from his gaze. She couldn't look down or step back to move away from him; she was trapped in the image of the Sharingan, staring straight back into Itachi's eyes as he stated bluntly and firmly,

"Don't be coy, Umi. Avoiding him isn't going to make things any easier—you know that deep down."

It was then Umi knew that there was no dodging around this subject now. He wasn't going to dismiss it, and she had no way to avoid it—and suddenly she felt anger rising within her. It was difficult enough as it was—and she wasn't about to let Itachi make it worse.


	17. Chapter 17

"Shut up, Itachi; you don't know anything about my situation—about what's going on in my head. There's so much I have to think about, and I'm not going to let you sit there and judge me!"

Pushing past Itachi, she headed out into his bedroom, but Itachi swiftly pursued her, grabbing onto her arm and turning her round to face him. Knowing there was no point storming out and running away, as Itachi would only persist, Umi allowed him to do so, forcing herself to face him as she added before he could say anything else,

"Do you know how long I dreamt about becoming human—about finally being able to live on land? I thought it would give me everything I wanted; and it_ has_. But I have no idea how to _remain_ this way. Then I'm just going to lose it all. It's worse now because I know what it's like; it's merely the same with Kisame."

With those words, however, the anger disappeared, and Umi's head dropped as it all came back to her, remembering how horrible she had felt—and _still_ felt. Itachi himself wasn't angry at her; after all, he could tell how much Umi cared about Kisame, and how much Kisame cared about her in return. When there was so much uncertainty in her life, it was hard for her to figure out what to do. She had come to love a world that she was scared would fade away from her in only a few days time, and Itachi knew exactly why she had done so—he could understand why in the first place. But he didn't want the both of them to continue like they were; it would only make things worse, and neither of them would be able to fully recover from it. For a moment Itachi hesitated as he saw the look on Umi's face, but finally replied gently,

"I know how you feel, Umi. You don't think you're ever going to figure out how to keep yourself human, and you think if you go on like you had at the start, then you would only be even more hurt than you are feeling now. But it doesn't have to be that way. Kisame might hold the answer to you staying human. If there's a _chance_ of you figuring it out, wouldn't you rather fight for it as much as possible instead of resigning yourself to the fact and simply waiting for it to disappear? Wouldn't it be better to live your life in the moment, instead of spending it worrying and feeling upset all the time? Only by allowing yourself to accept the happiness you have found here will you be able to do anything about it."

Automatically Umi was brought to a halt, unable to do anything but stare back at Itachi in shock and confusion. She'd never thought about it in that sense. She had thought that by doing all of this—distancing herself from the Akatsuki and Kisame himself—that she would be protecting herself, and it would make the transformation easier to deal with. That she wouldn't have to get hurt, and neither would Kisame. But now that Itachi had said that...Umi couldn't help but consider it. She had said she had always dreamed of becoming human and being able to live on the land; but now she was, she was simply wasting it by walking around moaning about how she wasn't going to be human much longer. Instead of enjoying what she had in front of her, Umi was focusing on what would be happening—concentrating too much on the future. Maybe if she just paid attention to what was going on around her in the present time, the future wouldn't seem so difficult to understand and accept. She wasn't sure, though, as it would get her closer to Kisame, and when it all turned back to nothing, that loss would be greater.

Umi looked down, still silent as she remained deep in thought. Itachi's words were bringing up so much turmoil in her head, and she wasn't sure where to turn. Even if she _did_ take Itachi's advice and forget about her current plan...would she be able to handle it? It would be a big change to go back to being a mermaid again after all she had learnt—would she be able to handle the loss of not only living in this world...but of Kisame as well?

But sensing her hesitation, Itachi laid a hand on her shoulder and added,

"You keep saying it as if you don't have a choice in the matter, Umi; but you _do_. You can choose how you view this time with us."

The moment the word 'choice' came out of Itachi's mouth, and suddenly Umi was transported back to the lake, when she and Kisame had had that conversation. After all the things Umi had been told to do over the past couple of days, he had stood there and asked if she truly wanted to be human, and that he would allow her to return as a mermaid if she wanted. If that was her choice. Several times Kisame had stated firmly that he was merely offering, and that it was her decision as to what she would do—that she always had a choice, regardless of whether the Akatsuki or the rest of the world wanted it. In Kisame's eyes, Umi always had the right to pick what she wanted to do; and Itachi was only repeating this sentiment.

Memories of Umi and Kisame hanging out together then flashed through her mind, reminding her of all the fun they had had and how much they had gotten to know each other. He was so easy-going, he had made the transition from one world to another seem less of a huge hurdle and more of a fun ride, constantly repeating that none of them saw her any weaker or stupider because there was so much she didn't understand; and that she didn't have to feel overwhelmed. Kisame had allowed her to do things at her own pace and in her own time, learning the things she wanted to learn first, and talking _with_ her in a discussion, so it didn't feel as if she was in a classroom and had to remember all these different facts. Right from the beginning Kisame had fully accepted Umi for who she was—for _what_ she was—and her power had never influenced that fact.

He had always given her a _choice_.

Losing it all was going to hurt; Umi knew that. But the more she thought about it, the more she realised that if that was the case, she would rather she spent those days enjoying the life she had on shore instead of making herself upset about it and dragging Kisame into the fray as well. Because, when it came down to it, that's what she had done. Umi knew why she had done all this in order to stop herself from hurting so much...but Kisame hadn't had a clue. From his perspective, Umi had just pushed him away and started hanging out with the rest of the Akatsuki without a word as to how Kisame was or what he was doing. She'd known it was affecting him; but it was only after Itachi's words that she truly knew how much—and in what kind of way. Saying those things to Kisame hadn't been easy for Umi, and therefore it must have been amplified having to be the one to hear them. Umi frowned at her own behaviour; her cowardice, and instantly felt guilty for all that she had done. With what Kisame had done for her...how had she repaid him? With selfishness and disregard for anyone around her.

But it wasn't about to be that way anymore.

Itachi was right, and Umi had let this go on for way too long—there weren't many days left before she really _would_ change into a mermaid. She had to change things round while she still could, and before Kisame had to leave, and finally managed to meet Itachi's gaze once more with this thought. He instantly smirked at the look in her eye, seeing the look on her face as she looked up at him and sensing she knew what to do. This theory was only proven as she finally responded to Itachi's earlier comment quietly,

"You're right; I _do_ have a choice in all of this. And I'm going to make the right one this time. Thank you, Itachi."

With that, Umi turned and headed straight out the door. She didn't know where Kisame was, or where exactly she would find him, but it didn't matter. Umi needed to find him, and she needed to find him now. Time was of the essence here, after all, and she didn't want to waste it by waiting until morning to talk to Kisame. There were things she had to tell him, and it would be better off if he heard them straight away; when they were still fresh in her mind and her feelings still running through her veins. Umi wasn't about to back down now.

She had to make this right again.


	18. Chapter 18

Umi didn't find Kisame in his room, and pausing as she wondered where he might be, she eventually decided to ask one of the others. Considering the majority of them had been in all day, they had to have noticed Kisame at some point—and ultimately where he was now. Walking swiftly down the corridor, picking up her pace a little as she reached the doorway, Umi entered and headed over to the nearest person—being Sasori. Coughing gently to catch his attention, to which he looked up expectantly, Umi then continued hurriedly,

"Uh, hey, Sasori-sama. Um...have you seen Kisame around anywhere, by any chance?"

Sasori met her gaze apathetically, just like always, and shrugged slightly, having not really considered him. It was only as he noted the slightly fierce look in her eyes, a shadow of a glare and a scowl passing over her face that Sasori realised that she considered this important, and rolling his eyes, Sasori paused as he thought it over, before finally responding casually,

"I haven't seen him in a while; last time I remember seeing him was when he said he was going for a walk. He didn't say where, though."

Smirking triumphantly at this news, Umi shook off the idea of asking everyone for more details, simply thanking Sasori with a smile and rushing off outside. It was only when Umi did so, however, that she slowed to a halt, realising Sasori _did_ have a point with what he was saying. Although now she knew that Kisame wasn't in the hideout and was going for a walk, that didn't mean everything was solved. There were tons of places to look, and Kisame could be in any one of them—so where would he go? Umi nervously bit her lip, glancing up at the sun and not knowing what to do. She didn't want to waste time, she'd said that before, but rushing around all over the place looking for Kisame would be doing just that. There had to be some way of finding him rather than just walking around throughout the forest, and taking a deep breath, Umi released it, calming herself down, turning her thoughts to where Kisame could be.

Naturally, he wouldn't have left the area; he had a mission to do, after all—even if he wasn't particularly happy with it at the moment—and his duty was to his job in the Akatsuki. Pein would get really pissed off at him if he did so, anyway. So he had to be in this vague area; and he wouldn't be around the village. The villagers knew of the legends about Umi and had never really treated her with a welcoming and friendly nature as she was a mermaid; merely putting up with her because they had to. But considering Kisame's appearance, Umi had known they would only do the same to him. In a moment where you wanted to be alone to be one with your thoughts, wandering through crowds of people who were staring at you in a wary way wasn't an atmosphere that most people would choose to be in. No; Kisame had to be away from the village—out in the forest, maybe? Umi doubted he was heading anywhere in particular; he just wanted to think, and no doubt recall everything that had happened so far to try and figure it out. So where would he be?

And then it hit her.

The lake.

Kisame was concerned about what had happened with Umi, and the last time they had been together hanging out as good friends had been that conversation at the lake. If Kisame was trying to figure out what exactly had gone wrong and why she was acting like she was now, then the lake would be a good place to go. Plus, the view was calm and tranquil, and quiet enough to remain in your thoughts without anything else getting in the way—along with Kisame's connection to the water. All in all, it was the perfect place to go in this situation, and as such, Umi altered her direction and darted into the trees, running as fast as she could to get to the lake. Once she reached the shores, it would be easy to find him, and then she could confront him, and talk. How exactly she would _start_ the conversation, Umi wasn't too sure; there was so much to consider in terms of the topic and what she should start with—but at the moment that didn't matter. What she had to concentrate on was finding him first—then she could try and work out what she would say.

A thought that was ever more present as the lake appeared up ahead.

A spasm of nerves shot through Umi's body as she arrived there, and she swallowed hard as she came to rest on the water's edge, scanning the shore to try and find Kisame's location. For once in her life she wasn't thinking about being a mermaid while looking at the lake, and it felt...good, for some reason. Maybe it was because it had dominated so much of her life, that to be free from that grasp for a moment was a good sensation; though it was a little dampened by the fact that Umi spotted Kisame a second later, ambling along the shore on the far corner of the lake. Sighing as she saw the look on his face, Umi shook it off; she had promised herself that she would make this right, and therefore she would, her resolve set as she set off towards him, adamantine in her decision and knowledge that Kisame would not be avoiding this conversation.

She did, however, slow down as she approached him, quietening her movements so he wouldn't simply walk away if he knew she was there. Slowly making her way through the trees, she took a deep breath to prepare herself for everything she had to say and anything that Kisame might throw back at her in anger, before finally stepping forward. Kisame's back was to her, so he didn't immediately see her, too deep in his thoughts to fully notice. Umi was only grateful for this, though, and called his name gently. Freezing at the sound of her voice, Kisame hesitated, unsure how to respond. Anger and sadness had been competing in his head for so long, he had no idea which one to pick, prompting him to turn and look at her over his shoulder, his face calm but his voice angry as he growled,

"What are you doing here? What more can you say to me to mock me and make me look like an idiot? You haven't been so intent on speaking to me before."

"I know that, and...and I'm sorry," she breathed in return, hanging her head in shame. Kisame could say nothing to respond at the emotion in her voice, spinning round slowly to face her, his anger disappearing completely as Umi lifted her face again, revealing her eyes shining with tears. He was brought to an utter standstill with that image, remaining silent as Umi then went on quietly,

"I know I've been an idiot lately, Kisa, I _know_ that. I ignored you and pushed you away, treating you like crap and never once gave you a reason for doing so. I dismissed anything you were going through and concentrated on my own selfish needs...but I'm not about to do it anymore. Please don't think that I don't care, Kisame...because I do."

A smile flashed over Kisame's features for a second as Umi spoke those words, his eyes intent on her face although she didn't return his gaze. He wanted to cut in; to say there was no need to apologise—that he understood, but Umi was too caught up in her words for Kisame to do so, prompting him to say nothing as she went on,

"The—the only reason I did that, Kisame, was because I—because I was afraid. I have no idea what will keep me human, and there's only a certain amount of time I have. I've grown to love my life here, and I've grown to care about you. The idea that I was going to lose all of this...I've never experienced hurt or loss in my life, and I didn't know if I would be able to handle it, so I thought it would be better if I cut you off. If I did that...then maybe it wouldn't hurt so much when I changed back. But now I know better. I know that I was simply making myself worse; and dragging you into the fray at the same time. Now I know that I want to enjoy what I have, and focus on what is in front of me; because it's _that_ that will help me deal with it better. If I go on like I was...I'd just be losing you faster than before. So I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I _swear_."

At this point the tears Umi had been fighting to keep back finally flowed, pouring down her face in a hot, silent flood. But abruptly Kisame knew what he had to do; for the moment, he didn't need words, and he fully walked over to her, gently pulling her close and hugging her softly, Umi immediately returning it. Then eventually, as she began brushing away her tears and pulling away slightly, Kisame finally replied quietly,

"It's okay, Umi; I'm not angry at you. I just...I just didn't understand. But now you've let me know...we can figure this out. We can work together and we'll know what to do. I'm not going to leave you alone in this—and I was never planning to."

But Umi could only hug him in response, grinning into his chest.

She was never going to lose him now.


	19. Chapter 19

With that one conversation...everything seemed to fall into place.

Umi and Kisame had spent the rest of the night talking, getting the full story as to what had gone on and why they had acted the way they had. Kisame maintained the fact that he wasn't angry; he had just been so confused and upset that things had gotten way out of hand—even if Umi _did_ keep apologising for having done what she had. Time didn't matter in the slightest as they sat there, both of them having forgotten completely about the situation, regardless of whether they were sitting by the lake or not. All that mattered was talking this out; by keeping all her worries and doubts concealed, everything had gone into freefall, and Kisame convinced Umi that despite what she might think, she _had_ to tell Kisame if there was anything troubling her. He _was_ supposed to be looking after her, after all, and he was her friend; he was more than willing to help if she was nervous about anything that would happen.

And he meant it. When Umi had turned up at that moment, Kisame had been uncertain where the conversation was going to go. She had been avoiding him all this time, treating him like he didn't exist—so why was she here now? A tiny flame of hope had erupted inside of him, hoping against hope that things were going to change and go back to how they were. But he remembered the exact same feeling the day after Umi had started acting strange and he went to her room to wake her up; look what had happened there. She had pushed him away even more so than before, going off to hang out with the rest of the Akatsuki and blanking him completely. So Kisame had tried to push it away; defend himself from what would no doubt be Umi saying something else that would isolate him even more than he already was.

Hence the surprise when she simply apologised.

Kisame's heart had automatically clenched in shock, and it had rendered him speechless—but the moment Umi continued and said what she had, explaining everything that had gone on...a huge wave of relief had swept over him. He could have laughed at the entire situation as the feeling shot through his body, overwhelmed with happiness. All that time he had been sitting there, thinking over what had happened so many times and trying to work out what he had done wrong or what had occurred that had caused Umi to change behaviour, worried and upset that she was never going to be friends with him again...and she was the one who came to him. Kisame didn't like the idea she had been in turmoil this entire time, but he had to admit, compared to the situation he had imagined it to be before, it was heaven. Every bad thought or feeling that had been running around his head these past few days instantly disappeared, and he was left with the same feeling he had had for Umi before, and he wasn't about to let it happen again.

Umi was just glad he'd been willing to accept her apology. When he had spoken with that tone of voice and hadn't tried to turn and face her, she had begun to worry that he would simply brush her off and continuing walking, not about to forgive her after what she'd done. She'd desperately wanted to make things right, but from his reaction it had started to seem like it wouldn't be quite as simple as Umi had thought it would be. From the looks of things, it had appeared as if the one chance Umi had of convincing Kisame that she hadn't meant it—that she wasn't about to continue being such a bitch as she knew better now—was slowly slipping away. That's why the tears had come; all of her actions had replayed themselves in her head, and she realised just how bad things had been—just how much she didn't want to lose him, along with her remaining fear of turning back into a mermaid.

Then his arms had wrapped around her...and abruptly it all ended.

There was no more worry; no more fear and no more concerns about the future. While Umi remained in his soft, protective grip, nothing was going to harm her; she felt completely and utterly safe. Suddenly she knew she could weather this storm, and deal with anything and everything that came her way. It didn't matter what problem was thrown at her; she had Kisame back on her side now, and somehow that made it all easier. It meant she wasn't alone anymore, and it wasn't a burden she had to shoulder on her own. By the time they had gone back to the hideout having got it all out in the open and she had headed off to bed, she had lain against the pillows, gently closing her eyes with a smile on her face. For the first time in several days, she slept peacefully, with no nightmares to disturb her slumber.

When that familiar knock came on her door in the morning, that same feeling of contentment came back, and not having realised how much she missed it, she walked over to the door and opened it, unable to keep herself from grinning as she saw Kisame's smiling face staring back at her. For a moment afterwards, there was silence, their eyes glued to each others as they remembered all the times this had happened before, finally understanding how much this had mattered to them. Yet somehow it was even stronger this time, and Kisame finally greeted Umi softly, one which she returned in full. When Kisame asked her what she wanted to be doing today, she couldn't help but smile once again and shoot back playfully,

"Everything and anything. Does it matter?"

Laughing at that comment, Umi then fully left her room, heading off down the corridor together to get something to eat. For the rest of the day they never left each other's side; though Umi made a point to go and thank Itachi when she saw him. There was no structure to their day; they played around, walking and doing whatever they felt like doing at the time, any questions Umi wanted answered being the topics they spoke about, simply enjoying each other's company for the most part. It just felt good to be hanging out together again, and Umi knew she had made the right choice. All she had been thinking about before had been so, so wrong, and she was so glad that Itachi had gotten to her when she did; the idea of having gone through the whole two weeks without having reconciled with Kisame was one she didn't like to entertain when she thought about it now.

Therefore Umi merely concentrated on what she had now.

There were times when their conversation topic passed over how to keep her human, but it never truly came to anything. Her parents had placed her in the lake to protect her, knowing she would be able to change back into a human when the time was right and she could protect herself. They had known there would be two stages to the whole thing—but they had never left her any clues. The village knew about the legends, too, but they didn't have any answers, either. Umi's only lead was Kisame, but being a human being and a ninja, it meant he could do a lot of things; what exactly was he supposed to do in order to help Umi remain human? There were too many possibilities to simply try out—and slowly the conversations just slipped to the back of their minds. A part of them both panicked when they thought about the moment they would have to say goodbye, Kisame wanting to talk with Pein to see if he could try and have any time to visit her at some point or another. But for the most part, they pushed it aside and concentrated on the time they spent with each other.

If it was all they were going to have, then they might as well enjoy it.

A couple more days went by, Kisame and Umi having so much fun; growing closer by the day. They encased themselves in their own little bubble; their own world where nothing could get to them and nothing was going to separate them. But that didn't mean everything was fine. Several of the Akatsuki had noted people wandering through the shadows of the trees when they went for walks, never showing their faces and disappearing if they were found. The memories of the guys who had turned her into a human in the first place came back to Umi, and she knew there wasn't much time left, noticing the sunset even more prominently that night. It was a companionable silence between Kisame and Umi, true, but the atmosphere was different; it was on both their minds. Tomorrow was the day, after all. Either Umi found out the answer, or things would end the same way they began. Though she had accepted that fact, it didn't mean she was ok with it.

Instead she found herself planning on how to say goodbye.


	20. Chapter 20

The sun rose, its bright red rays spreading across the sky, acting as a warning and signalling danger.

Umi watched as the light slowly made its way across her room and over her bed, understanding that warning all too well.

She had tried to sleep, and there had been several naps—but she had kept waking up. She'd begun having visions; repeating the one she had had since she was little, but combining it with other images that she didn't understand. With one she woke up abruptly, her heart pounding and panic clutching her heart, and she shook off the idea of going back to sleep; there was nothing she could do now but wait. For hours she paced, having one last attempt at figuring the whole situation out and checking to see if she had missed anything. If there was a place she should have gone to or a scroll she should have read somewhere along the line; if there had been an image in her vision that she had forgotten about but that would finally reveal what it was that Kisame could do to help her remain human and as she was. Each time she came up with nothing—like always—but still she remained pacing for a while longer.

Kisame was part of this; that had been obvious from the start. But part of it in what kind of way? What made him different in Umi's life? If the Akatsuki were going to be around, why hadn't it been Itachi? Or even Pein? What was it about Kisame that made him the key? Clearly, he was unusual when compared with most people when you took in his appearance. It didn't bother Umi and never had, considering she had been a mermaid most of her life; she knew what it was like to be half-and-half. Could that have affected it? Umi had never really asked about the way he was, considering it had never mattered. When she thought it over, it didn't seem likely. But what else was there? She knew his chakra was a lot more powerful than the others, considering his huge chakra supply—he'd been called the 'tailed beast without a tail' so clearly he had a lot of power. Maybe it was something to do with that; but even if it was, what exactly was he supposed to do with it? Attack her? Give her some of it and allow her to take it into her body? Whatever she suggested, it sounded stupid; and yet still Umi tried to come up with something else. At least it made her feel like she was doing something.

But what _was_ she supposed to do?

There hadn't been any instructions on _that_, either. True, she had been given a scroll which she read when she was older, but even with what it said, it had just been the basics; the Henka stone would turn her into a human for a couple of weeks, and then once that time came, if she didn't find the key to keeping her human, she would change back into a mermaid. But there were several things missing from that description, and Umi scowled, feeling like punching something in anger and frustration at how useless and helpless she felt right now. What time exactly would she turn into a mermaid? Would she have the full day to say her goodbyes and make sure she tied up all the loose ends? Or would it be like Cinderella; the moment it got to a certain time, she would immediately turn back into a mermaid? Or would she simply disappear; teleporting back into the water and remaining there? Umi didn't know—and it was starting to feel like she didn't know anything about herself or her situation. She was the one who had been the mermaid!

But regardless of what way she would transform, it didn't make it any easier.

Especially when it came down to Kisame.

Because that was something else she had been panicking over. By the time it got to the end of the day, she was going to be a mermaid, and Kisame would have gone. All they had done together and how close they had been would dissipate—at least in the literal sense. But how was she supposed to deal with that? What in the hell could Umi say to Kisame that would help things along? It didn't seem like there was anything she _could_ say. Apart from trying to figure out how to keep herself human, it was the other part to her plan; trying to plan her goodbye to Kisame. Nothing she came up with appeared to be the right thing; not conveying the right emotions, sounding stupid and making her look like an idiot...just when she thought she'd come up with something, Umi would speak it out loud and suddenly it became childish and almost mocking.

Being a mermaid had put her at a disadvantage with so much in life.

Knowing how to say goodbyes was one of them.

Or should she even say goodbye? Her plan of keeping away from Kisame and isolating herself from him so it would hurt less had been idiotic—Umi would admit it. But focusing on the moment and what was around her couldn't really apply here. Wouldn't it just be better if they accepted the times they'd had together...the friendship they'd formed...and to have _that_ fresh in their minds instead of a goodbye that would only heighten the sadness? Seeing Kisame's face and how he would react wasn't something Umi was looking forward to; and she didn't want him to see her as weak. She didn't want any of the Akatsuki to think of her as weak. But if she stood there crying and trying to say goodbye without making any sense, then everything she'd worked for would just disappear from underneath her. She had to be strong.

Sitting down on the bed with a sigh, Umi glanced up and saw the sun still rising, signalling that the day would soon be fully starting. Soon everything would truly begin to awake—along with the rest of the Akatsuki and Kisame. Every morning she expected and looked forward to hearing him knock on the door and greet her; but this time Umi knew it would be different. Suddenly every action would be turned upside down. All the memories of times that had been good would only end up as sad when she saw them in _this_ context. Biting her lip, Umi closed her eyes tightly and tried to knock herself out of it, but nothing she did seemed to work. How long had she been awake, preparing herself for this very moment—and yet nothing had changed. Still she felt helpless and powerless to do a thing. Paranoia took over at the idea any one of the Akatsuki could be turning up shortly, Umi's heart began to pound against her chest, and swallowing hard, she stood up once more. She needed a little more time to think, but it couldn't be here; not when the others would come to find her. Umi needed to be alone.

So there was only one place she would go.

The lake was calm as Umi stared down into it and her reflection. It had been her home up until recently; a familiar place that was always somewhere she could return. But as she stared down into the water, it didn't feel that way anymore. Abruptly it was a dark, uninviting place that would trap her in a world where she would never be free; a prison that would inevitably end up as her tomb. Then suddenly a whisper of a breeze disturbed the surface of the lake as Umi stood there, sending ripples across the water and causing her reflection to ripple and disappear, revealing the depths of the water below. Only it seemed like that would happen literally; that her very identity would be lost within the lake—who she truly was—and she would simply dissolve and vanish. There would be nothing left of her, simply an empty shell that the water had eroded over time.

Her attention on the water; her thoughts were too strong for her to be paying attention to anything around her, not noticing the shadows darting around nearby. They'd hoped this sort of situation would have come sooner; then maybe they could have done something about it. Umi had been their property, after all—it had been _them_ that had turned her into a human! But they weren't stupid; approaching the Akatsuki as a whole group was pure suicide; there was no way they could have taken them on in battle. So they had had to wait—only no opportunities arose. There was always someone with her; either Itachi at the start or Kisame as the days went by. He always kept an eye on her; taught her to keep on guard to make sure nothing surprised her. So the time had simply passed on by, until now—the only time they had managed to get her on her own; vulnerable. But it didn't matter now—Umi was useless. She hadn't figured out a way to stay human; she wouldn't be acting like this if she was. But they had to make a decision; and fast. The Akatsuki could be coming any moment—and so they made their choice.

If they couldn't have her, then they certainly wouldn't give the Akatsuki a chance.


	21. Chapter 21

Kisame hadn't had much luck sleeping either.

He'd spent the first part of the night staying up, trying to work out the answer to Umi's problem. He wanted her to change into a mermaid as much as she did herself, and to be honest, he was starting to feel guilty about it. He knew she'd had visions about him, and she'd said to him when they had talked the other day that she was pretty much certain that remaining human would have something to do with him. Umi hadn't meant to place full responsibility on him, Kisame knew that—in fact, she'd said it herself. But he couldn't help but think about it over and over again. It was to do with him; therefore he should have some clue as to what would keep her human—he should know. But instead he was sitting there with no idea as to what to do about it, Umi no doubt worrying her ass off all on her own knowing that he couldn't help. But then he'd realised that sitting there blaming himself wasn't going to help either.

So he'd changed tactics.

Strangely enough, for the second part of his night Kisame had actually tried as hard as he could to get to sleep. He wanted to be fully awake the next morning with a clear head in case he could actually come up with a solution, and he didn't want Umi to worry that he hadn't slept all night because of her. It would give him some calm time to himself without having to think about everything that would soon be happening; for one moment, at least, he could be freed of that burden. But naturally, the second he attempted to sleep...his body wouldn't let him, cruel irony taking over and almost mocking him. Nothing he did worked. The bed would be uncomfortable, so he'd turn over several times, getting nowhere. He'd flip the pillow over to the cold side; but that had no effect whatsoever. Then he'd get hot, so he'd throw off the blankets, only to become freezing a second later and have to cover himself once more. His bladder then felt the need to speak up, and growling at himself, Kisame had dragged himself out of bed to go to the toilet, lying back down for one moment before he needed a drink. Hours passed in this way, until eventually Kisame was simply lying there, staring at the wall in front of him blankly, having just about given up.

Once again his mind drifted to Umi; but somehow his brain couldn't imagine how hard it was going to be saying goodbye. Though it in a way, it wasn't the goodbye he was truly focusing on; somehow, some way, he would deal with it. It wasn't that he didn't care and was brushing off their friendship entirely as if it hadn't mattered...but what was concerning him most was how Umi would react. When she turned back into a mermaid, he would go with the Akatsuki and leave, getting assigned missions and travelling all over the world, using his abilities. Umi would return to a lake—with only a certain amount of space—with no human contact anymore. Everything she had learnt about this world would become useless, and all she would be able to do was stare up at the shore and think about her memories. At least he had a job and missions to do that would keep his mind off this whole thing; but Umi had none of that. Her world would close in on itself, and she would lose it all—he could understand why she had felt the need to isolate herself from him. Kisame would have walked away without another word if it meant he could do something to help her once she was back in the lake—but just like so much at the moment, he was rendered completely and utterly useless.

How was he going to be without her? Umi had changed so much in his life. Kisame had never been as close to someone as he was to Umi right now, and the idea that he would simply say goodbye and then turn and leave was one that did not sit comfortably with Kisame. Would he ever see her again? He didn't know. Whether Pein would let him visit her at some time or another was a mystery as well; although Pein knew how close they were and how he had wanted Umi in the group to begin with, he also led the Akatsuki, and therefore knew of all the missions that had to be completed to make their goal a reality. Allowing Kisame to do something which would waste time for the Akatsuki was most likely something that Pein wouldn't do...but Kisame didn't want to accept the idea that tomorrow would be the last time he would ever see Umi's face.

He cared about her too much.

The feelings had been there from the start, Kisame had figured that out a while ago, and they had only increased the more he got to know her. The connection they had always shared didn't exactly help, either. It reinforced what they had and strengthened it in a way that Kisame couldn't help but feel couldn't be recreated with other people. Umi was special to him, and not because she'd had visions about him and he had something to do with keeping her human. Because of who she was; of her personality and everything about her identity. She just clicked with him and made him whole. Kisame had always stuck out like sore thumb, but when he was with Umi he forgot about that. He wasn't some freak who looked weird; he was simply her friend and like anyone else—but she saw him as more than that. Kisame now understood that Umi was a part of his identity; that without her he wouldn't be who he really was. He _had_ to convince Pein to let him see her again; there was no way he could go on like he had before otherwise.

The bright light of the sun suddenly shot across his face, causing him to wince and back off, slowly sitting up and sighing as he realised just what that meant. It was a new day; the last day he would have with Umi while she was still human. For a moment Kisame remained gazing at it, wishing desperately that he had the ability to control time; if he could, he'd just replay their time together over and over again, stuck in a loop that was nothing but happiness and contentment. But he knew it couldn't be. Sooner or later, he would have to let her go.

Though abruptly it hit him...he didn't have to.

Umi might be turning into a mermaid...he might have to leave with the Akatsuki...but he would never truly lose her. In a literal sense, maybe, but not metaphorically. He would always be with her in the same way that Umi would always be with him—that connection had been evident even when they hadn't met. When he had looked into her eyes that day, he hadn't known who she really was or anything about her life. And yet still he hadn't been able to look away; her gaze had affected him so much, and it was like they had known each other all their lives the connection was that deep. Regardless of where Kisame was in the world, that connection would remain, and he would do everything humanely possible to keep it there.

Nodding in determination at that fact, Kisame stood slowly and left his room without a sound. Facing her would be hard, neither of them truly knowing what would happen—but he wanted to talk to Umi. He had to find some way to say goodbye; and even if he couldn't find the words, he at least wanted to spend some time alone with her before everything was set in motion. Maybe that would be the best way after all; simply sitting together in silence, knowing they were there for each other and always would be. Describing how he felt towards Umi would be difficult enough, and Kisame knew how upset she was going to be. If Umi felt too upset, however, Kisame wouldn't let her say anything. He'd do just what he'd done before; hugging her and letting her remain in his arms. For one last moment they would be together.

Umi's door loomed up ahead, and to begin with Kisame slowed to a halt, staring down at the door knob, his hand hovering over it as he fought with himself as to what to do. Everything was so complicated, and it was always so uncertain! He wondered what she might be doing in there; whether she had gotten any sleep either—but the moment his thoughts passed over her, and Kisame shook off his hesitancy. He had to be strong; for Umi, at least. He couldn't waver when she must be having such a hard time, and so he grabbed the handle and opened the door, calling out her name softly.

But she wasn't there.

Instantly panic gripped his heart, and Kisame darted fully into her room, checking everywhere to make sure she just hadn't answered. Finding her room empty, he went straight back out into the corridor, half running towards the other rooms to check if she was there, starting to call out her name as he did so. The sound of his voice began to rouse the others—but it was Itachi who reached Kisame first, questioning as to what the matter was. Kisame ignored him to begin with, continuing searching through the hideout before he finally realised Umi was nowhere around, spinning to face Itachi and breathe hurriedly,

"She's gone, Itachi. I went to say goodbye, but...she's nowhere around."


	22. Chapter 22

"What if she's already a mermaid, Itachi? What if she's gone?" Kisame burst out afterwards, unsure whether to be frustrated or upset—but Itachi quickly stepped in, placing a hand on his shoulder to state firmly,

"You don't know that, Kisame. We all know that this must be hard for her; she might have just gone for a walk. Getting yourself riled up won't help—if she sees you like this it will only make what _she's_ feeling even worse."

Nodding, Kisame rubbed his temples and took a deep breath, knowing he was getting way too obsessed with this. If he was going to figure anything out, he'd need to be calm—and ultimately that meant taking Itachi's advice. For the moment, he didn't know where Umi was, and as such he took the nearest seat in the kitchen, thinking everything over. Maybe there was some simple answer to this that he was merely overlooking, and he was just panicky knowing that Umi was going to be turning back into a mermaid. As Kisame sat there, the others soon joined him, unsure what to say at first; they knew the whole situation, and had seen how close Kisame was to Umi. Considering all that was going on, it was going to be hard to know exactly what to say; but eventually Deidara felt the need to speak up, questioning,

"Did she say anything about it last night, un?"

"No; we just hung out last night—we didn't really talk about it. But the one time that we did, she never gave any serious details about it. She never said what she would have to do," Kisame shot back, glancing up before looking back down again, sighing at the way things had turned out.

As if things weren't bad enough...

For all Kisame knew Umi was gone completely from his life by now. Sure, he hadn't truly known what he would say to her when he saw her today, or how things were going to go from there—but at least he knew he would be able to see her one last time and hang out with her for just a little longer. But now everything had been turned upside down, Kisame sitting there with his hands on his head as the rest started to speak up, persevering in getting answers. Had she left a note; hinted at something the entire time they'd been friends? Had they agreed on anything before today or had she just said that she was going to leave? Kisame sat there listening, getting angrier and angrier by the second. He felt completely useless as it was, without everyone saying all these questions which he had no answers to—a fact he wasn't pleased with. His frustration taking over, Kisame finally stood up and called a halt to everything, bursting out angrily,

"She never told me what would happen, okay? Umi didn't say that she would have to go to the lake and stand in the water to turn her back to a mermaid or if it would happen automatically. There were no 'directions' to reveal what would happen to her. She could have simply disappeared into the lake in the early hours of the morning or walked out herself! But I don't know. If Umi knew, she never told me. But I don't think she did."

Kisame sighed, sitting back down again heavily. What was he supposed to do now? Had Umi tried to run to escape her fate, or was she in the lake; a mermaid? There were tons of places round here she could have gone to be alone, anyway, if she _had_ stayed in the area. Considering Kisame didn't know how much time he had left, or if he even had any time left at all, he didn't know where to turn or what in the hell he was supposed to do to make this better. All he could do was sit there and stare at the floor, wishing he had been able to do something.

He should have spent the night with her. Been with her when no doubt she had been finding it incredibly hard to deal with everything at the moment. He couldn't imagine how she must have felt waking up alone knowing she was about to lose everything—having no choice in the matter. Whatever possibility had occurred with Umi, it mustn't have been easy. By disappearing automatically, she would have to deal with it all having gone and not even having had a chance to say goodbye to everyone. If she'd run, Umi would be feeling upset and desperate to find another way out of this. Even if she was just standing and thinking, it couldn't be easy. All the thoughts that had passed through her mind before would only be doing the same thing now. She'd isolated herself from him once before; for Umi to have decided not to say goodbye wasn't something Kisame would dismiss—he could understand if she had done so.

But what if that was it?

What if Umi hadn't wanted to say goodbye because she felt it was too hard, and therefore she didn't want to see him again? That she'd headed straight down to the lake, and either was already a mermaid or was waiting to transform back into one? Either way she could avoid Kisame, and she wouldn't have to deal with watching him leave. He had always known saying goodbye would be hard, and maybe there had been a time when he had thought the same thing. If it was what Umi wanted, after all...wouldn't it be best to respect her wishes? After having had all these people tell her what she would be doing as a human, would it be best if he finally honoured her own choices and allowed her to go off unhindered? Seeing her cry wouldn't exactly be easy for Kisame, either, and if he made it worse for her, he'd never forgive himself. If he didn't say goodbye, he could cherish the last moments they had spent together; talking, laughing and just hanging out, instead of trying to come up with words that could never truly convey what he felt.

"If she hadn't turned into a mermaid...wouldn't she have left a note; or said something by now?" Sasori abruptly cut in, and immediately he was told to shut up.

Kisame hadn't said a word since, and had remained seated, staring down at the floor as he tried to figure out what to do. None of them knew how exactly they could comfort him or give him advice, and so they decided it would be best if Kisame came to his own conclusion; after all, a part of Kisame felt that Sasori was right. Surely there would have been a sign if Umi was just taking a walk or something to clear her head; but there was nothing, prompting Kisame to agree with Sasori's opinion. She had to be a mermaid by now...and Kisame had lost her.

Then suddenly something occurred to him.

He'd been thinking about it—worrying about it—a little while ago in his room, and he'd realised the truth. There had been a moment last night when Kisame's only thoughts was that he was going to lose Umi tomorrow—and he had convinced himself otherwise. He knew that he was never going to lose Umi; and so what if she had turned into a mermaid already? She would still be alive; still have that same personality that had drawn her to him in the first place. That connection between them was one he felt where he stood right now, and proved that regardless of whether Umi was human or a mermaid, Kisame would remain connected to her. He would always care about her, and he didn't care what she was or where she lived. True, maybe not saying goodbye might be easier for some people...but he couldn't say the same. Kisame wasn't about to sit back and let Umi disappear off without speaking to her one last time. He didn't want to lose the change to say goodbye to her, and as such clenched his fists. Sasori might be right...but it didn't mean it was over. So standing up, Kisame still didn't say anything, merely beginning to head out of the room and towards his own. Narrowing their eyes at what he was doing, Itachi eventually caught up with him as he picked up Samehada, asking quietly,

"What do you want to do, Kisame?"

"I'm going after her, Itachi. I don't care whether she's a mermaid or not; I have to say goodbye. I have to talk to her...and I don't care if she's already transformed or not."


	23. Chapter 23

Umi had thought she'd hated life when living in the lake...

But this was taking things to a whole new level.

Everything was so confusing and leaving her without a clue as to what to do. She still wasn't certain about her goodbye. She cared about Kisame more than anything. He had always been there for her right from the start, giving her a choice when no one else had bothered. Umi had been pushed round by everyone since she was born; even her parents hadn't left her any choice. Instead of waiting until she was old enough to make a decision, they simply left her in the lake—leaving _instructions _on how to live her life when she was old enough. Even those hadn't gone smoothly, however, and look where she had ended up. Being forced to turn into a human and being told by the Akatsuki she was staying with them and there was no way out of it for her. Kisame had changed that, though; he had showed her that what she had thought was going to be a living hell...was actually going to be the one place where she felt she belonged.

He had given her so much; taught her everything about this world and in a sense, trained her. That connection was evident, true; but Umi had been expecting it from the start—and yet there was something else. Something that had only shown up since she had begun hanging out with him and getting to know him; a kind of attachment she had never known before or really understood. But then, living in a lake all her life, that was to be expected. Though she could read about emotions and the kind of things that happened, with the more complex ones...it was hard to comprehend without context to put it into. So now Umi stood there staring out across the lake, trying to make sense of what was inside of her; and how exactly she was going to fit it into her life when so much was happening at the moment. How _could_ she say goodbye? There was so much inside her head to understand, trying to word it wouldn't get Umi anywhere, and even if she actually managed, it would never be enough. There would always be things she wanted to say, and trying to call him back every time she remembered something wouldn't work. So was there really any point in doing it?

To see him one last time.

With how her feelings were at the current time, seeing Kisame would help solidify them. Umi could truly know they were there—and see Kisame's own. That way, even when she returned to the lake and Kisame had to leave, she could take comfort in the fact that he cared about her in return. That physically; literally they might not be able to be with each other, but that higher, deeper level connection would keep them together in an altogether more spiritual and psychological way. Abruptly the idea of saying goodbye didn't seem like such a milestone with this knowledge, however, and Umi was really considering saying goodbye. It would be that last moment that she would cherish more than the rest, and she needed to have it. True, she didn't know how Kisame would react, or what to tell him about what would happen. She herself knew nothing, and it wouldn't exactly comfort Kisame if she pointed that fact out.

Sighing, she breathed in the breeze as it rushed past her, knowing she should probably head back to the hideout and talk to the others if she was going to say goodbye. After all, she didn't know how long she had left as a human; she didn't want to lose the chance now she had decided—and they were most likely all up anyway. Realising Kisame had most likely gone to her room to check up on how she was doing and had found no one there, and was now probably panicking about the idea that she was already a mermaid, Umi sighed once again, ready to turn back and find him. Leaving Kisame upset and worried was not how she wanted to her relationship with him to end, closing her eyes for one second to accept all that would soon happen.

But it was the worst decision she could have made.

Umi's head had been so full of thoughts; too busy concentrating on her situation to sense anything around her; if she had, then the same thing that had occurred when she transformed into a human wouldn't have happened again. Before she even had a chance to open her eyes, someone slammed into her from behind, and although she managed to keep herself from completely falling face first onto the floor, she still flew forward, landing several metres into the water of the lake. Instantly Umi tensed; she might not quite know how she was going to change back, but keeping out of the water until she was ready was one thing she had been set on doing—

Only now it was too late.

Scowling back at the four ninjas she now saw coming towards her, she quickly used the water to her advantage and attacked one with it, now only having three left. But her attention was diverted abruptly as she felt a spasm of chakra shoot through her legs—she was beginning to change already. Cursing mentally, Umi forced her mind back to the battle and began to fight back once more, managing to severely injure another, but immediately noticed that her power was getting weaker by the second. She couldn't keep them back enough to stop herself from getting hurt, wincing as she felt the cold metal slice through her skin on her arms, stomach, and most importantly, her chest, a kunai hitting her straight on. Umi remained fighting, however, and finally managed to kill the ninja she had injured, leaving only one left; but she knew she wasn't truly able to fight. She knew deep down that she didn't have the power to kill him, her legs now slowly morphing back into a tail.

It didn't exactly help when she noticed who it was.

The guy who she had first seen kneeling on the edge of the lake looking down at the Henka stone; the one who had placed it on her chest—it was him. All along he had been the leader, and she had dismissed them. They had only been around for a while, and once she had run away, she'd fell into the hands of the Akatsuki—she hadn't seen them since. Because of that, it had slipped from her mind. When she read the scrolls that had been left by her parents, they had all said that it had been to protect her; that when people found out about her power, they would turn up and try and force her to use it for their own will. That had been evident all her life...and yet she'd been too focused on dreaming about becoming a human to take true notice of it, and then those guys had turned up.

Not only that...but she had let them do it again. Stupidly, Umi had forgotten all about what had happened when she first turned into a human, too busy concentrating on adapting to life on shore and with the Akatsuki—too busy developing her friendship with Kisame. Ultimately this was where it had ended up; and there was nowhere Umi could run. She wasn't about to back up into the water; her legs were changing enough for her liking as it was—and there was no way she could get up and run off like last time. Umi could only sit there and watch as he came closer, glaring down at her to snap viciously,

"I wanted your power so badly; it was why I kept the Henka stone and I was the one to change you—when I found out that they'd taken you...I was so fucking angry. But it's too late now—and if I can't have your power...then I won't let the Akatsuki have that chance either."

Pulling out another kunai, he stepped forward, raising it and swinging it down, aiming for her chest again; Umi doing the only thing she could—covering her face with her arms and closing her eyes tight. But when all she felt was something splattering against her skin, she knew something wasn't right, and lowered her arms to find that his body was now lying face down in the water, his blood staining her skin. Glancing up, slightly confused with all that had gone on in such a short space of time, her vision swaying a bit; a sudden smile flashed across Umi's face as she saw Kisame standing there. With Samehada in his hands and coated with blood, she gathered that was what had killed the guy—but it wasn't what Kisame was concentrating on; his eyes wide in shock and his heart beating fast. The blood in the water wasn't entirely from the ninja; Umi knew it, and Kisame was beginning to understand too as his eyes passed over the gaping wound in her chest.

She didn't have much time left.


	24. Chapter 24 (The End)

Throwing Samehada to the side for the moment, Kisame sprinted through the shadows and threw himself down on his knees next to Umi, lifting her gently towards him, trying to force his heart to calm down and focus on what was in front of him. Quickly pulling off his Akatsuki cloak, he bundled it up and pressed it firmly against her chest wound, keeping silent for the moment, unsure what would come out if he tried to speak. He'd looked all over trying to find her when he left the hideout, and upon reaching the lake he hadn't even seen Umi there. It wasn't until he heard noise that he figured there might be someone around—

But it hadn't exactly been the kind of result he'd been looking for.

Right from the beginning he had been assigned to protect Umi—Pein had specifically given him that job. All that time when they'd been hanging out and becoming friends...him teaching her all about his world...he'd kept an eye on her, true, but he hadn't done all he could do. Kisame knew now, as he looked down into Umi's eyes, that he should have done more. He should have gotten information off of her as to what they had looked like and what exactly had happened, before going out and searching for them in the area. The power Umi had inside of her was incredible, and ultimately, that meant it was incredibly _covetable_, too. Those guys had had the Henka stone, and had forced Umi to turn into a human. Clearly that was the reason they had turned up, and you didn't have to be a genius to figure out they most likely had been angry upon finding out the Akatsuki had stumbled across her, and were now integrating her into their group.

It was obvious they would have stuck around; obvious they wouldn't have given up that easily. All this time they had been sitting there, watching them, waiting for the right time to strike. They'd had enough sense not to approach them headfirst...and in the end their opportunity had never showed itself. They'd reached a stalemate, and there was nothing they could do anymore. No way they could get her power and not even a way to keep her human to try and steal it back. She'd become useless to them—and naturally they didn't want the Akatsuki to get in the way. They had done before...and they weren't about to let them do it again. Umi was lying there, bleeding and hurt, but not because of her. Because of _him_. They had tried to force her back into being a mermaid—tried to _kill_ her—to get back at the Akatsuki and what they had done.

It was all his fault.

Umi knew exactly what he was thinking—but she didn't feel scared, or confused. She felt strangely...peaceful. The pain had numbed, and although she was a little light-headed and dizzy, it felt as if nothing could hurt her anymore. Nothing would get to her, and that everything was going to be okay. The fact that Kisame was holding her in her arms was only helping that, too. They encircled her protectively but gently, like he wouldn't let anything get to her but not wanting to break her—as if she was delicate and fragile. Somehow it was like she fit perfectly there, and she didn't want him to let go, merely lying back and staring up into his face; gently laying a hand on his cheek with a smile to state softly,

"It's okay, Kisa—it's okay."

But Kisame shook his head, gritting his teeth in an attempt to control himself; to keep his emotions back. He didn't know whether he could trust himself with speaking yet, torn between frustration, anger and sadness. It wasn't okay—and it never would be, and no matter what Umi said it wouldn't change his mind. He knew the kind of tone she was taking towards him, and he wouldn't let her do it. He couldn't let this happen; not after all they'd been through. It had only been a couple of days ago that they'd reconciled from having Umi isolate herself from him—he couldn't lose her so swiftly after that.

But then again...

What did it matter?

Even if he did save her; she'd be a mermaid now. All Kisame would do was stand up, turn around and head back off with the Akatsuki, leaving Umi to deal with everything by herself. It didn't matter what he did; he wouldn't be with her, regardless. He opened his mouth to try and say something; anything that would comfort her—or more him—or that would make things better than they were. But nothing came to mind, and he simply closed it once more, looking around to try and pick out something that would help here. Though finally he looked back as Umi began stroking his cheek; tracing his gills, and their eyes met—just like the first time they had seen each other. That connection shot through Kisame's body once more, and he fell into her eyes, unable to look away. In that moment, Umi calmed him, and resting his forehead against hers he whispered mournfully,

"I'm sorry, Umi—I should have protected you. Now we can't be together."

But shaking her head softly, Umi remained smiling in return as she replied quietly,

"You did protect me, Kisame; I don't blame you."

"But...but I love you," he breathed in desperation, and Umi widened her eyes in shock.

Suddenly it came to her. Umi had always known there were emotions she didn't understand. She had never experienced them, and therefore wouldn't be able to recognise them when—or if—they showed up in her life. All the feelings that had appeared and churned around in her stomach—in her head—had been ones she enjoyed...but didn't truly comprehend. Every time she thought of Kisame they appeared, and it hadn't gone away as she had gotten closer to him; if anything, they had gotten stronger by the day. Her heart beat fast, and a fluttering feeling danced in the pit of her stomach; there had been times when she could content herself just staring at Kisame; watching as he spoke or laughed and feeling happier than she ever could have imagined. She had thought it was friendship; that they were really close. It was only now that Kisame said those words that Umi realised...

It was love.

It always had been.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw the same in Kisame's own, saying nothing as she pulled his face towards hers and placed her lips gently against his. Her tears began to fall as she did so, Kisame's joining hers; mixing together as they trickled down her skin. But neither pulled away, too lost in the kiss; in their feelings to notice anything else around them. His lips were so gentle and soft as they moved against hers, like they were meant to be there, his arms pressing her against him and not wanting to let go. There was nowhere else she wanted to be, and softly stroked his skin, never wanting it to end. The pain disappeared; the worry and the doubts that had been through their minds in the last few days dissipating with the kiss—and for that one moment, everything was absolutely perfect. Kisame felt her body start to slack, but refused to let go of her, determined to keep her close to him—to not let her go. He didn't know what else to do. He couldn't lose her; and if he let go...then it would be over; and he couldn't face that. Not now.

Which is why he noticed when things changed.

His body was pressed up against Umi's so tight that he felt her arms morph and change, her legs following suit. Tensing slightly, Kisame opened his eyes, pulling back, brushing away his tears as he saw her arms were free of cuts and slices from where the kunai had hit her; and when he glanced down at her legs he saw the same thing too. Her wounds were healed. Wondering how that had happened, Kisame remained staring at them until he realised something else;

Umi actually _had_ legs.

She had been changing when he had kissed her; but now she had legs, and narrowing his eyes in utter confusion, Kisame could do nothing but watch as her chest now began to morph and change in much the same way her arms and legs had done. Slowly, but growing faster as time went by, Umi's skin began to rebuild itself, the damage done to her chest fading and disappearing until eventually her chest moved, breathing once again as her grip came back. Now she groaned, blinking with disorientation as everything came back to her, finally looking up at Kisame to realise that nothing had changed; that she was still looking up into his face—that he wasn't going anywhere. For a moment there was silence, until she abruptly burst out into relieved laughter, almost unbelieving of all that had happened. Kisame joined in, utterly speechless at everything that had gone on, before he was pulled once again into a kiss, not about to protest as he tightly cradled Umi in his arms. When she pulled back, she cupped his face gently, staring deep into his eyes as she whispered,

"It was right in front of me...and I never even knew. You were all I needed; all along."

All Umi had ever wanted was right in front of her. For so long in her life when she'd been living as a mermaid she had dreamed of finding a place where she belonged on shore. But she had never imagined how perfect it could truly be. That she would find all she had and know it was hers. She did nothing as Kisame now picked her up bridal style, walking back onto shore with the others standing nearby, blinking in surprise at how she was still human. Questioning as to how that had happened, both of them just shrugged, smiling—not knowing but not caring in the slightest. It didn't matter how it had happened; just that it had. Sensing this; the majority rolled their eyes and turned back to the hideout, Pein pointing out Umi would be returning with them. Nodding gently in return, everyone headed off, leaving Kisame and her behind. Turning back to look at him, she paused for a moment before stating simply,

"I guess my life's about to finally start, huh?"

"Yeah—together," Kisame shot back with a grin, and giggling, Umi nodded, kissing him once more, only for him to add as she pulled away,

"But it's best if we get you out of those clothes first, hmm?"


End file.
